Indonesian draft intelligence law violates basic rights: report

Indonesian draft intelligence law violates basic rights: report

JAKARTA: A draft law on Indonesia's national intelligence body
denies detainees basic rights and violates local and
international laws, an international rights group said Wednesday.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the draft law gives a new and
expanded role in law enforcement to the National Intelligence
Agency (BIN), which the New York-based group described as "a
notoriously abusive and unreformed agency linked to many past and
present human rights abuses."

In a letter to parliament Speaker Agung Laksono and the chair
of a parliamentary commission considering the draft, Theo
Sambuaga, HRW urged the legislative body to "drastically amend
the draft to ensure it does not lead to serious and systematic
abuses."

The draft law, governing the activities of BIN and of a wider
intelligence community, is currently under debate by the
commission.

"The draft allows BIN to go beyond its intelligence-gathering
role and move into law enforcement," HRW said in a statement.
The draft law allows BIN agents to detain persons for up to 30
days without any judicial oversight or control. AFP