Missing activist 'found' in police cell

Missing activist 'found' in police cell

JAKARTA (JP): Student activist Andi Arief, who went missing
last month, has been found in detention at the National Police
Headquarters and claims he was abducted, his lawyer said
yesterday.

Munir, vice chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation
(YLBHI), told a media conference that police had called the
foundation on Wednesday morning to inform him that Andi was in
their custody.

"The police also called Andi's family on Tuesday and told them
the same thing," Munir said. Munir is also an executive on the
Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence which was
established following recent reports on the disappearance of
students and political activists.

Andi was among a number of activists who went missing after a
wave of student anti-government protests began two months ago.

The foundation said in a report last week that Andi, 27, a
graduate of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and an active
member of the outlawed Democratic People's Party (PRD), was
abducted by a gang of unidentified men from his home in
Bandarlampung on March 28.

"Andi confirmed he was abducted on that date although he did
not reveal who his abductors were," Munir said. Munir, along with
Andi's brother Edi Irawan and a number of YLBHI lawyers, met Andi
at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta yesterday.
The meeting proceeded under the watchful eye of eight police
officers, Munir said.

"He said he was blindfolded and taken to an unidentified place
with radio sounds in the background, where he was interrogated
for a number of days and nights," Munir said.

Andi told Munir that he was handed over to the police by his
abductors on April 17, almost three weeks after he was kidnapped.

Munir suggested that Andi kept silent about who his abductors
were because of tight police supervision during the meeting.

"There were many police officers in the room. That must have
affected Andi's psychological condition and prevented him from
giving any further explanation," Munir said.

Silent

Munir said Andi also remained silent when asked whether he had
been physically abused during his absence. "We asked him to take
off his shirt and he looked clean," Munir said, adding that Andi
was wearing an orange prison uniform.

Munir, however, said that Andi had complained about the
recurrence of a liver problem.

According to Munir, police said Andi was being detained for
his alleged involvement in the bomb explosion in Tanah Tinggi,
Central Jakarta, in January.

The Armed Forces linked the blast to the PRD and its alleged
campaign to topple the government.

Andi's refusal to be questioned without a lawyer present
forced police to notify the legal aid office and his family of
his whereabouts, Munir said.

Munir said he believed the police were not involved in Andi's
disappearance, and speculated that the police officers who
"received" Andi held considerably lower rank than the abductors
who dumped him at police headquarters.

"The police could not do anything but accept Andi," Munir
said.

Separately, the Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. A. Wahab
Mokodongan said yesterday that he knew nothing about the return
of Andi, or who was responsible for his disappearance.

"All I know is that Andi Arief is being questioned in
connection with a bomb explosion in Tanah Tinggi," he told The
Jakarta Post.

"We (the Armed Forces headquarters) would like to know who
abducted him," he said.

He said that it was the Armed Forces duty to respond actively
to any reports on the disappearance of Indonesian citizens.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar refused to
comment yesterday.

Meanwhile, the parents of Herman Hendrawan, 27, a student from
Airlangga University in Surabaya, Faisol Riza, 24, and Rahardjo
Waluyo Djati, 28, both from UGM, reported the disappearance of
their sons to the National Military Police Headquarters
yesterday.

Herman, Faisol, and Rahardjo have been missing since March 12,
when they were known to be in Jakarta.

Besides the three, YLBHI reported that at least four activists
are still missing, namely Bimo Petrus, Suyat, Yani Avri, and
Sonny.

YLBHI confirmed earlier that three activists previously
reported missing -- Nezar Patria, Mugianto, Aan Rusdianto -- had
been found in Jakarta Police detention.

Three Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) activists who were
missing until earlier this week -- Desmon J. Mahesa, Pius
Lustrilanang and Haryanto Taslam -- have now been reunited with
their families, but have refused to disclose anything about their
experiences or whereabouts during their absence.

Vice chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights
Marzuki Darusman said on Tuesday that the commission would meet
with the three activists today. (byg/imn/edt)