| Subject: AI UA 99/99 INDONESIA Fear of torture
Date: 05 May 99 03:36:48 -0400 From: UA E-Mail Incoming <UA%AI-UK@amnesty.org.uk> Paper reprints authorised. Electronic redistributors + + must request permission from Amnesty International. + + Contact: ua@amnesty.org.uk PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 21/38/99 4 May 1999 UA 99/99 Fear of torture and ill-treatment INDONESIA Edi Rohadi Taufik Edi Saputra Naiman Solehudin Samsudin Jahid Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of the six men named above, who have been taken into custody in connection with a bank robbery and two bomb explosions in Jakarta. One of them is already known to have been tortured and ill-treated in order to extract a forced confession. On 15 April 1999, a bomb exploded at a shopping centre in west Jakarta. A nearby bank was robbed shortly afterwards. Four days later a bomb exploded at Indonesia's main mosque, the Al-Istiqlal, in Jakarta. Police claim that the bank robbery and the two bomb blasts are connected. The six men were arrested without warrants and their houses searched without search warrants. Most, if not all, of the men are from Warung Menteng Village, Cijeruk District, Bogor, west of Jakarta. They are believed to have been arrested on the basis of the confession of a man from the same village, arrested earlier in connection with the bank robbery. All six are being held at the Jakarta Regional Police Headquarters (Polda). Their wives have now been given access to them but they have so far been denied access to lawyers. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Criminal suspects are at risk of torture and ill-treatment in both military and police custody in Indonesia. Individuals are often arrested by police without warrants, held in custody without being charged and frequently tortured in order to obtain confessions. Detainees are also commonly denied access to independent legal counsel. Once a trial begins, information about pre-trial irregularities brought to the attention of judges is often dismissed by the courts. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/faxes/express/airmail letters in Bahasa Indonesia or English or your own language: - urging the authorities to ensure that the six men are not tortured or ill-treated, and that the allegations that one of them was tortured and ill-treated are independently and fully investigated; - urging the authorities to ensure that the men have immediate and regular access to lawyers of their choice and to their families. APPEALS TO: (Time difference = GMT + 7 hrs / BST + 6 hrs) CHIEF OF NATIONAL POLICE Gen. Roesmanhadi Kapolri Markas Besar Kepolisian RI Jl. Trunojoyo 13 Kebayoran Baru Jakarta Selatan Indonesia Faxes: + 62 21 720 7277 PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO: Embassy of Indonesia, 38 Grosvenor Square, London W1X 9AD. Fax: 0171 491 4993 AND, IF POSSIBLE, TO THE FOLLOWING: MINISTER OF JUSTICE Prof. Dr. Muladi SH Menteri Kehakiman Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav. 6-7 Kuningan Jakarta Selatan Indonesia Faxes: + 62 21 525 3095 PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Please do not send appeals after 15 June 1999. If you have any queries about this Urgent Action or about + + the UA scheme in general, please contact: + + Ray Mitchell / Becky Hess + + Amnesty International UK Section + + 99 - 119 Rosebery Avenue + + London EC1R 4RE email: ua@amnesty.org.uk Back to May Menu |