JP/5/abepura

JP/5/abepura

Top police officers stand trial over Abepura abuses

Andi Hajramurni
Makassar

An ad hoc court here on Friday began separate trials for two
senior police officers charged for their roles in gross human
rights abuses three years ago in Abepura, Papua.

The defendants -- the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) paramilitary
police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Johny Wainal Usman and Papua
Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Daud Sihombing -- attended the
trials.

They could face jail terms from 25 years to life for the
charges.

Prosecutors told the Makassar court in South Sulawesi that
Johny, 49, and Sihombing, 45, were guilty of violating Article 39
and 42 of Law No. 26/2000 on human rights violations.

The two had not prevented or acted to stop their subordinates'
actions, which breached human rights, they said.

Neither did they hand over their subordinates to authorities
for investigation and prosecution.

"The defendants had authority and effective control of their
subordinates and knew they had committed serious human rights
violations," prosecutor Rauf Kinu said.

The abuses took place on Dec. 7, 2000 in Abepura, about 20
kilometers south of the Papua capital, Jayapura, when 30
residents armed with sharp weapons attacked and set fire to a
local Abepura Police precinct at about 1:30 a.m.

Sgt. Petrus Eppa was killed and three other policemen were
wounded in the melee. In a separate attack on the Irian Jaya
Autonomy office in Abepura a security officer, Markus Padama, was
killed.

About an hour later at 2:30 a.m., the Abepura Police assisted
by the Jayapura Brimob began a hunt for the perpetrators by
scouring nearby residential areas and in hostels, including a
student residence.

During the searches, police arrested, assaulted and tortured
at least 99 residents, suspected of having been involved in the
attack. Three people were killed. Elkuis Suhunaib, 18, died in
the searches, while two others, Johny Karunggu, 18, and Orry
Doronggi, 17, died after having been tortured.

At the time of the incident, Johny served as the Jayapura
Brimob unit commander and Sihombing as the local police chief.

Thursday's trials were held separately with the same panel of
judges led by chief Judge Jalaluddin but with different
prosecutors for each case.

The defendants were accompanied by two defense teams of 18
lawyers, including Denny Kailimang and others from the National
Police headquarters led by Sr. Comr. Suyitno.

Jalaluddin adjourned the trials until May 17, 2004 to hear
defense pleas from the defendants and their lawyers.

Kailimang, coordinator of the two legal teams, could not say
what each man would plead, as their lawyers were still studying
the charges.

The two-hour trials proceeded under tight security with a
guard of about 100 Brimob members and anti-riot officers
brandishing guns around the court compound.

Outside, dozens of students staged protests, demanding the
judges hand down severe sentences to the two defendants. The
protesters questioned why only two police officers were standing
trial.

Each visitor was examined with a metal detector before
entering the courtroom.