Human Rights Ministry stresses strengthening human rights to prevent vigilante actions

Denpasar (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Human Rights (KemenHAM) has emphasised the importance of strengthening human rights down to the village level to prevent a recurrence of vigilante acts that end in death.

“So we are gradually observing situations like this, and the importance of building awareness, including of law and human rights,” said Thomas Harming Suwarta, Special Staff to the Minister of Human Rights for Digital Transformation and Media Communication, on the sidelines of a discussion with several media outlets in Denpasar, Bali, on Monday.

The ministry has chosen a persuasive approach towards communities, in the form of socialisation on the importance of human rights, so that incidents of mob justice resulting in the loss of life are not repeated.

Human rights socialisation, carried out in partnership with district (kecamatan) authorities and village officials, is not only being conducted in the villages where the incident occurred and where the victim came from, but also in a number of other areas.

According to him, the theft allegedly committed by the perpetrator and victim, identified by the initials KD, in Baturiti, Tabanan Regency, cannot be justified.

“But for whatever reason, taking the law into one’s own hands is not justified, let alone to the point of taking someone’s life. That is the fundamental principle of human rights,” he said.

“We encourage entrusting this entire process to law enforcement. So we hand it over to the police, confident it can be carried out professionally and based on human rights principles — that is the emphasis we are pushing for,” he added.

Previously, the vigilante killing over the alleged theft of chickens occurred on Friday (24/7) at around 01.30 WITA.

Meanwhile, the Tabanan Police Resort has named five people as suspects in the case of the alleged beating of a man with the initials KD, who was suspected of stealing two chickens in Banjar Dinas Juwuk Legi, Batunya Village, Baturiti District, Tabanan.

The five suspects bear the initials MJ, WS, KB, ML and ND.

Officers then carried out an exhumation of the victim’s body, which had been buried at the Sidetapa cemetery (setra) in Banjar District, Buleleng Regency, on Monday (27/7), as part of the investigation process after the Tabanan Police Resort named five suspects.

Exhumation is the process of reopening a grave to remove a buried body for the purposes of investigation or forensic examination.