Two UKI students sue police for Rp 1b for wrongful arrest
JAKARTA (JP): Two Indonesian Christian University (UKI) students, detained for alleged involvement in kidnapping a police officer, are suing the city police for wrongful arrest.
Rudi Pahala Simatupang Siburian and Edward Taurus B. Karo-karo claimed city police officers did not furnish warrants when they arrested them on Dec. 8. The men, students in the economics school, are still in custody.
In the suit filed by their attorneys at the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday, the two seek damages of Rp 1.5 million for material losses and Rp 1 billion for other losses.
They are represented by lawyers from the Student Movement Advocating Team.
Hotma Timbul Hutapea, one of the lawyers, said Rudi was arrested at his house on Jl. Sadar in Ciganjur, South Jakarta, and Edward at his home on Jl. Letjen. Sutoyo, Cawang, East Jakarta.
"Police did not show any warrants in both arrests. The police officers even introduced themselves as Rudi's friends to Rudy's relatives before making the arrest."
Johnson Panjaitan, also one of the legal team, said the police were required to prepare warrants since the students were accused of kidnapping police intelligence officer Suratman on Nov. 27.
"The police had a lot of time to prepare the arrest warrants. They could not say that they arrested the students red-handed," Johnson said.
He added that police had no right to arrest the students because they possessed no preliminary evidence.
Video
The police, he said, made the arrest based purely on video footage of the incident from private television station SCTV.
Both men did not have access to their lawyers during police questioning, Johnson said.
He said the students signed dossiers because they were intimidated.
Hotma contended that Rudi and Edward, members of the logistics team of student group City Forum, tried to rescue Suratman from being lynched during a student rally organized by the group near city police headquarters on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta.
He said the officer was taken by taxi to the UKI campus in Cawang and then to STIE Nusantara, also in East Jakarta, while the students returned to the demonstration scene.
In addition to material compensation, the students demanded the police restore their good name through advertisements in selected print media and television, Hotma said.
Edward's brother Hendi Karo-karo, who was also arrested but released the following morning, is reportedly planning to sue police on the same grievance.
Rudi and Edward, along with the two others who are still at large, are accused of abducting the sergeant major of the South Jakarta police identification unit.
Police denied at the time of the arrest there had been a contravention of procedures.
"We used proper procedures," city police spokesman Lt. Col. Edward Aritonang said. (jun)