Four agrarian activists file lawsuit against City Police
JAKARTA (JP): Four agrarian activists who returned home after going missing for 12 days filed a suit against the Jakarta Police on Wednesday, claiming the police issued misleading statements about their abduction.
The lawsuit was filed with the South Jakarta District Court by the activists' legal representatives from the Jakarta office of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).
"The police have been issuing statements which harm our clients," YLBHI's Johnson Panjaitan said in a media conference.
Johnson denied the police's claim that the four Agrarian Reform Consortium (KPA) activists got into an ambulance of the their own free will on Aug. 14 at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
"We have three witnesses who say our clients were shoved forcefully (into the ambulance) by more than 20 Mobile Brigade personnel led by Supt. Setyanto," he said.
"Also, our clients did not ask to be dropped off in front of the KPU (General Elections Committee) building. They were told to get out of the ambulance there," he added.
Police earlier said the four were taken to a hospital due to their weak condition after staging a hunger strike during the Assembly's 12-day Annual Session.
"The arrest of our clients was unlawful since the police did not have a warrant," Johnson said.
He said the police's statement saying they doubted the four activists had been kidnapped had hindered the activists' efforts to recover from the ordeal.
"We don't want to create a polemic in the media about the truth of our clients' statements, so we are handing the matter over to the courts to find out which party is telling the truth," he said.
The activists are demanding the city police pay Rp 900,000 (US$105) compensation for medical expenses, including for psychiatric consultations.
The lawsuit also demands that the police rehabilitate the activists' names by running commercials apologizing to them on five television stations and 10 radio stations, and placing ads in four newspapers distributed nationwide, 10 Jakarta newspapers, six magazines and six tabloids.
Head of the National Police information department Sr. Supt. Saleh Saaf said on Monday that the alleged kidnappings were a dagelan (comedy).
The activists' lawyers insist the National Police, not the Jakarta Police, should conduct an investigation into the alleged abduction.
"The Jakarta Police are part of this (alleged kidnapping)," Johnson said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Jakarta Police spokesman Supt. M. Nur H. Usman said the police would force the activists, namely Anton Sulton, 26, Idham Kurniawan, 24, Usep Setiawan, 28, and Muh. Hafiz Asdam, 23, to appear for questioning after they failed to honor two summonses to appear at police headquarters.
Separately, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dadang Garnida said he was ready to act as mediator in the dispute between KPA and the Jakarta Police. (jaw)