Police face lawsuit over nasty conduct
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Two foreign women currently being detained in Aceh are planning to sue security officials for the 'unpleasant' treatment they received during their detention at a South Aceh police station, their lawyer says.
Lawyer Rufriadi said on Friday that police abused his clients -- American health worker volunteer Joy Lee Sadler and British academic Lesley McCulloch -- by beating, threatening, and harassing them.
"There are some bruises on their faces. The police punched them in the stomach, threatened them with swords, pointed a gun at their heads, and yelled at them using abusive and dirty language," Rufriadi told The Jakarta Post.
Rufriadi, who is also the director of the Banda Aceh Legal Aid Institute, had been asked by the U.S. and British Embassies in Jakarta to be the two women's lawyer.
McCulloch denied police allegations that she brought pictures and documents related to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) activities, a secessionist movement that has been fighting for independence since the 1970s.
Sadler also denied possessing any documents related to GAM.
"Despite the fact that we were not in possession of separatist documents, information was released to the media by the police stating that the discovery of such documentation was the basis of our detention," Sadler said in a note obtained by Reuters.
"The police are now intent on uncovering proof of our intended association with the separatists, but there is none," she said.
The two, traveling on tourist visas, were arrested by the police on Sept. 11 along with their Acehnese translator when trying to pass a security check point at Keude Rundeng in South Kluet subdistrict, some 600 kilometers south of Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. The translator was later released.
Aceh Police deputy spokesman Comr. Taufiq S. said on Friday that the suspects had the right to deny the charges.
"Police investigators have carried out their tasks based on solid facts and data," Taufik said.
Taufiq said McCulloch and Sadler, based on the results of preliminary investigations, were charged with visa abuse as stipulated in Article 50 of Immigration Law No 9/1999.
If convicted, both face more than five years imprisonment and a fine of Rp 25 million (US$2,778).
Taufiq insisted that security authorities found documents and photos about GAM's activities in their bags.
Meanwhile, Army Chief Ryamizard Ryacudu said on the sidelines of his three-day visit to Banda Aceh on Friday that the government should be more selective in granting visas to foreigners wishing to travel to conflict areas.
"Foreigners are always involved in rebel activities here," said Ryamizard, adding that authorities should be aware of foreigners' presence in any conflict area.
"Why did they misuse their visa? If they are tourists, why did they go to Aceh? Did they want to see people at war?" Ryamizard asked.