Political detainees' rights abused: Lawyers

Political detainees' rights abused: Lawyers

JAKARTA (JP): A team of lawyers told the National Commission
on Human Rights yesterday that the Attorney General's Office had
violated the rights of suspects who were currently being detained
in relation to the July 27 riots in the capital.

Calling themselves the Team of Lawyers to Defend Indonesia's
Justice, they are representing 11 suspects who have been detained
for their alleged involvement in the incident.

"We have noted rampant violations since the beginning of the
whole process. For example, some suspects were arrested without
warrants. This sort of action is in violation of the criminal
code," Dwiyanto Prihartono of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute
said.

The 11 political suspects were arrested for their alleged link
to the small, leftist little-known student organization, the
Democratic People's Party (PRD), which the government has accused
of inciting the riots.

The riot ensued after supporters of a government-backed
faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party forcibly took over the
party's headquarters, which were controlled by supporters of
deposed chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Five people were reported dead and over 100 people detained in
the riot's aftermath.

According to Dwiyanto, the team's executive secretary, there
were at least eight points where suspects' rights had been
violated. The Attorney General's Office, however, had corrected
six of the eight violations, he said.

Warrants

Warrants for their arrest were not issued until the day after
they were detained, Dwiyanto told reporters after a closed
meeting with commission members, which lasted about 90 minutes.
Their families did not receive the warrants until a week
afterward, he said.

Six suspects were caught on Aug. 11, while four others were
arrested the next day.

"Until Aug. 18, no one knew where the suspects were detained,"
Dwiyanto added.

After Aug. 18, the suspects were held at the Attorney
General's Office and the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Provincial
Office.

"The warrant said that suspects were being detained at the
state's penitentiary when in fact they were being held at the
Armed Forces Intelligence Agency," Dwiyanto said.

At least four PRD leaders, including Budiman Sujatmiko, are
facing charges of subversion, which carries a maximum penalty of
death. Under this charge, suspects can be held in detention for
up to a year.

The lawyers noted the prolonged period during which suspects
were detained before any investigation was conducted.

"Garda Sembiring, for example, was not even questioned once
until Sept. 13," Dwiyanto said.

Prominent human rights advocate Abdul Garuda Hakim Nusantara,
who is also a member of the lawyers' team, said that the report
to the commission was not meant to corner any particular
institution.

"We intend only to uphold the law and the legal rights of our
clients," he said.

To this, Dwiyanto added that if their clients opted for a pre-
trial session, the objections to these violations could be raised
in court.

Commission member Clementino Dos Reis Amaral assured the
lawyers that inputs gathered would be reported to Coordinating
Minister for Political Affairs and Security Soesilo Soedarman,
with whom the commission holds monthly meetings. (14)