Rights court set to try Abepura case

Rights court set to try Abepura case

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi

The Makassar ad hoc human rights court says it is ready to try
two of Indonesia's most senior police officers who have been
charged with committing serious human rights violations in Papua
province three years ago.

Brig. Gen. Johny Wainal Usman, the current deputy chief of the
police Mobile Brigade (Brimob), and Adj. Sr. Comr. Daud
Sihombing, have been named suspects in the Abepura case.

Makassar District Court head Andi Haedar said on Tuesday that
they were ready but could not say when the trial would open.

Haedar said six prosecutors had been appointed to prepare
charges against the suspects, while five judges had been assigned
to hear it.

He said the South Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office had completed
the dossiers of the two suspects but were yet to submit them to
the court.

"The delay is because we are holding the trials of the
McDonald's bombing incident in Makassar. Now, these court
hearings are almost completed."

The human rights tragedy took place in November 2000, when
police killed five civilians in a clash in Abepura.

The incident followed an attack on the local police office,
which left at least two policemen dead. Police then launched a
sweep to search for civilian suspects, a move that forced
villagers to flee their homes.

At the time of the incident, Johny served as the deputy chief
of Papua's Brimob, while Daud Sihombing was the Jayapura police
chief.

It would the first human rights trial in Makassar. A similar
ad hoc court had been opened in Jakarta to try the East Timor and
Tanjung Priok cases.