FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AS-106-2007
May 23, 2007
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
INDONESIA: It is not “MALTREATMENT UNTIL DEATH” but “TORTURED TO DEATH”
On 14 May 2007, the Indonesian Surakarta District Court decided that the death of Roni Ronaldo was caused by “maltreatment until death.” The six defendants were police officers, one received the maximum punishment for the crime, which is 2 years of imprisonment, while the five others were imprisoned for one year and six months.
Roni Ronald was tortured to death under police custody. The panel of judges handed down the verdict based on the article of “maltreatment until death” in Indonesian Penal Code. However, under international law, the death of Roni Ronald would mean tortured to death, but there is no law prohibiting torture in Indonesia. The provision of “maltreatment until death” is not in accordance with the international framework of criminal law. The sentence meted out to the 6 police officers was not proportionate to the gravity of the crime they committed.
Under the Indonesian law, premeditated murder can be sentenced up to death penalty or life imprisonment; murder can be sentenced up to fifteen years imprisonment. Yet, the maximum penalty for “maltreatment until death” is only seven years of imprisonment. Thus, the sentence meted out for these police officers and it was not proportionate to the crime of torturing a person to death.
It was the public prosecutor who recommended the particular jail term to the panel of judges. Such recommendation needs to be reviewed in comparison with the law related to murder, as well as Indonesias international obligations under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Convention against Torture.
There is no legal or moral justification to treat torture leading to death as a lesser offence than murder. Crimes committed by law enforcement officers should be given higher punishment than those committed by civilians; otherwise it would reinforce the practices of impunity that prevail among state officers in Indonesia. In addition. it would create contradiction in law , which will undermine the public confidence in the prosecutor office as well as the judiciary itself. Thus the verdict in this case should be reviewed, as it amounts to an abuse of the legal process to exonerate grave crimes.
According to the post-mortem report conducted by Dr. Budijanto of Medical Faculty, Forensic and Medico-legal Department, State University of Surakarta, on 21 November 2006, Roni Ronaldo suffered the following injuries,
1. On top of Roni’s head: 4×5 cm blemish;
2. Forehead: 1.5×2 cm scar on top of his right eye; and 2×1.5 cm scar on next to his right eye;
3. Nose: 3×1.5 cm scar;
4. Chin: 3×2 cm scar
5. Right cheek: 5×6 cm blemish below the eye; 5×5 cm scar below right ear;
6. Left cheek: 6×4 cm scar near left ear;
7. Chest: 9.5×2 cm scar on the right chest;
8. Right arm: 5.5×14 cm blemish on top right of the arm;
9. Left arm: 5×2 cm blemish on top left of the arm;
10. Right thigh: 15×1 cm blemish; from knee to feet there is 57×15 cm scar;
11. Left thigh: 17×16 cm scar; from knee to feet there is 54×12 cm scar;
12. Back: 23×11 cm blemish; 7×5.3 cm blemish; 6x5cm blemish; 10×2 cm blemish.
The report indicates extensive and prolong torture, and proves that the death of the victim was not caused by minor or accidental injuries. Police officer should have known the victim might die if he was treated in such manner. Thus the case should have been treated as a premeditated murder.
Therefore, the Asian Human Rights Commission urges the Attorney General to appeal the case to the High Court, and if necessary, he should retry the police officers under the ordinary law related to murder. We urge the civil society organization and international community to take up this issue with the Attorney General, Komnas HAM, and other Indonesian authorities. We also urge that the crime maltreatment until death to be abolished, and instead law criminalizing torture should be enacted under Indonesian Penal Code, with appropriate punishment.
