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)