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