Experts differ on how to manage threats

Experts differ on how to manage threats

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Most experts agree on the need to put an end to
the threats currently being made to search out and expel
Americans, but differ as to the legal grounds on which the police
should go after those making the threats.

Such threats have already caused hundreds of expatriates to
flee the country.

Lawyer and women's activist Nursyahbani Katjasungkana said on
Friday that the police would be entitled to take action against
those making the threats by using article 335 of the Criminal
Code.

The article stipulates that someone is liable to prosecution
if he or she intimidates another person or causes them to feel
discomfort as the result of threats.

"If the police find it difficult to use the article because it
involves religious groups, at least the police could show the
public that uttering verbal threats is against the law,"
Nursyahbani told The Jakarta Post.

She also said that those who encouraged the public to
undertake certain actions could also become the target of police
investigation based on article 160 of the Criminal Code.

Adrianus Meliala, a criminologist from the University of
Indonesia (UI), agreed that article 335 could serve as a legal
basis for the police to take action against those making threats
against other people, but warned that the article is very vague
and could be subject to differing interpretations.

He argued that under the present legal system, threats are
considered as crimes only if they are carried out.

Article 335 was often used by the repressive regime of former
president Soeharto to suppress opposition.

"If the police use the same article to go after those making
threats of sweeping and killing, the police would become
unpopular," Adrianus said.

Adrianus said that in many Western countries like the U.S.,
which adhered to the Anglo-Saxon system of law, anyone who
threatened another person could become the target of a police
investigation.

Based on this system, many English-speaking countries had
adopted special laws, such as antiterrorism laws, whose
implementation was frequently marked by excess and the
violation of human rights.

Indonesia, however, followed the civil law system (derived
from Dutch law).

Mulyana W. Kusumah, another UI criminologist, said the making
of a threat could become the target of a police investigation if
and only if the threat was addressed against a particular
individual.

"A telephone threat, for example, could become the subject of
an investigation based on articles 338, 339 and 340 of the
Criminal Code. But if a threat is made during a speech without
any clear target, it cannot be investigated," Mulyana added.

Articles 338, 339 and 340 of the Criminal Code deals with
premeditated murders.

Mulyana also called on the police to use a persuasive approach
in dealing with Muslim groups which are upset with the U.S. plan
to attack Afghanistan over its policy toward Osama bin Laden, who
has been named as the chief suspect in the attacks on Washington
and New York.

"I think the police made a good move by approaching the
leaders of these Muslim groups. Legal action against them would
only cause further problems," Mulyana told the Post.

Adrianus said the issue of sweeping had been exaggerated by
the media by quoting persons who claimed that they would kill
Americans if the United States attacked Afghanistan.

"The police have already guaranteed that they will protect
foreigners in the country. The foreigners have a choice -- either
they can believe in the police or in the media," said Adrianus.

Article 335:
Whosoever makes a threat of violence, a threat of another sort or
a threat which gives rise to a sense of discomfort or unease
shall be subject to a maximum sentence of one years imprisonment
or a maximum fine of Rp 4,500.

Article 160:
Whosoever encourages other persons in a public place to commit a
criminal act either verbally or in writing ... shall be subject
to a maximum sentence of six years imprisonment or a maximum fine
of Rp 4,500.