Students to report police action to military
Students to report police action to military
JAKARTA (JP): Two students from the Indonesian Christian
University (UKI) plan to report city police officers to the
Jakarta Military Command for wrongfully arresting them, the
students' lawyer said on Monday.
Hotma Timbul Hutapea, a member of the Student Advocating Team,
said the students -- Rudi Pahala Simatupang and Hendi Karo-karo
-- were wrongfully arrested on Dec. 8.
"They were also mistreated while in detention at the city
police headquarters and we intend to report the matter to the
military police," Hotma said.
He said Hendi and his brother, Edward Karo-karo, were arrested
at their home on Jl. Sutoyo in Cawang, East Jakarta, while Rudi
was detained at his home on Jl. Sadar in Ciganjur, South Jakarta.
Hotma said the police released Hendi, a UKI law student, on
Dec. 9, but continued to hold Rudi and Edward for allegedly
kidnapping a police intelligence officer identified as Supratman
on Nov. 27.
Rudi and Edward then filed lawsuits at South Jakarta District
Court seeking compensation of over Rp 1 billion (US$110,000) for
their suffering during the incident.
In a trial on Jan. 18, the court ruled in favor of Rudi, who
was released on the same day. However Edward's case was thrown
out on Jan. 21.
Fifty students grouped in the City Forum (Forkot) protested
against the judge's decision during a demonstration staged
outside the city police headquarters.
Late last year, Suratman's wife, Dwi Rusianah, and Dewi, the
wife of a police officer assaulted by demonstrators in Pasar Baru
on Dec. 10, submitted complaints to the Commission for Missing
Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on behalf of their
husbands.
On Monday, the women returned to the commission to find out if
their complaint had been acted on and were told by Bambang
Widjojanto that the matter had been reported to the police.
The Kontras adviser also told them the commission would be
unable to represent the officers because it was already
representing the students in the case.
"It would be a conflict of interest if we represented the
officers," Bambang pointed out.
The two women appeared disappointed by the commission's
response.
Soldier
Separately on Monday, the Jakarta Police summoned a soldier
who was allegedly assaulted by demonstrators in East Jakarta last
month.
City police spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang confirmed that
First Soldier Djumbadi had been summoned to give his account of
the incident.
"He was summoned to give his testimony as the key witness in
the incident," Aritonang said, referring to the incident which
took place on Dec. 18.
After the questioning, Djumbadi, who is attached to the Army's
cavalry unit, told reporters that a gang of people forced him out
of a public bus when it stopped in front of the UKI Hospital
before dawn on Dec. 18.
"I was wearing my combat troop uniform, so they recognized me
and forced me out of the bus. I was then dragged into the
hospital yard, where dozens more people were waiting," he said.
Djumbadi said his attackers were UKI students, although when
pressed he admitted that none had worn UKI's light blue jacket.
Djumbadi, who hails from Gunung Kidul in Yogyakarta, said that
he was stripped of his possessions after the beating was over.
He said his assailants made off with his combat shirt,
bayonet, a magazine containing 23 rubber bullets, his hat and his
boots.
He also lost his wallet, Rp 400.000 and all his identification
cards.
"The students stripped me off and beat me on my neck," he
added. (jun/emf)