Witness tells of sexual abuse

JAKARTA: A witness told the human rights court on Tuesday she experienced sexual abuse during her detention by the military following a shooting incident in the North Jakarta area of Tanjung Priok in 1984.

The woman, Aminatun, 46, recalled the humiliation she suffered during 40 days of detention at the Jakarta Military Police headquarters in Guntur, South Jakarta and the Military Police detention center in Cimanggis, near Bogor in West Java.

"They once undressed me, until I was wearing only my bra and underpants," she said in her testimony during the trial of former Jakarta Military Police chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Pranowo.

She said she was put under severe mental pressure during the detention, during which she also experienced repeated intimidation.

Following the detention, she said she received treatment at a mental hospital run by Dadang Hawari and Mu'at.

Aminatun was allowed to testify after three other witnesses failed to turn up. The defense lawyer, Yan Juanda Saputra, objected, but to no avail. -- JP