Mother sues police for son's arrest

JAKARTA (JP): A mother has filed a pre-trial motion against the Central Jakarta police for the unlawful arrest of her 14-year-old son on June 14, her lawyer said Saturday.

Rita Serena Kalibonso, one of Johana's lawyers from the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, said that the police had arrested Timotius T.N. without a warrant.

"The police illegally arrested the boy and put him in a detention center filled with adult criminals," Rita told The Jakarta Post.

Timotius' mother, Johana, is seeking Rp 3 million (US$1,300) in damages and to have her son freed of all charges.

She explained that the police detained Timotius for 20 days at the Central Jakarta police precinct and issued the warrant only on June 22, eight days after the arrest.

Timotius, along with Johana and her husband Suryabara, was arrested on charges of attacking police officers who were forcibly evicting them from a disputed house where they had lived for years.

The family, who managed to foil previous attempts to evict them from the house, reportedly attacked the officers with hydrochloric acid, injuring six of them.

"The detention was also illegal because as a minor he should have been put in a detention center for children," Rita said.

Rita explained that the police failed to transfer the boy to Pondok Bambu juvenile detention center in East Jakarta because their request was turned down by the center's authorities.

According to Rita, the police finally released him because they did not know where to detain him.

Rita said she expects that the pre-trial session will begin this week. (yns)