INDONESIA: Dedek Khairuddin disappeared by Military; family remains in the dark

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the enforced disappearance of Mr. Dedek Khairuddin (30), a resident of Pangkalan Brandan Village, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Dedek was forcibly abducted from his home by seven soldiers, and has not been seen since. The government has not conducted serious efforts to locate Dedek and has failed to ensure proper judicial process in the case. Six perpetrators from the Indonesian Navy have been convicted with light punishment, and one soldier of the Indonesian Army has been released, without clear reason. To date, Indonesia has not ratified the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Mr. Dedek Khairuddin (30) was forcibly abducted from his home on November 28, 2013. The perpetrators include a soldier of Indonesian Army of Regional Command, KODIM, Intelligence 011/ LW Pangkalan Brandan, North Sumatera Province. Beside this soldier, seven soldiers of Indonesian Navy are also involved.

The AHRC has learned that that the reason behind the enforced disappearances is that Dedek was accused of knowing about the whereabouts of Mr. Fendi Tato, a suspect who brutally attacked Mr. Jul, a marine member of Pangkalan Brandan.

The soldiers accused Dedek of being associated with Fendi, and forcibly abducted him from his home to force him to disclose the whereabouts of Fendi.

According to Dedek’s wife, Mrs. Sahrol Bariah (27), her husband was forcibly abducted from their home by the soldiers who wanted him to show them the location of Fendi Tato. Sahrol also witnessed that the soldiers carried a rifle. Two hours after Dedek was abducted, Sahrol could still phone her husband. After this time, the phone could not be reached anymore. As Dedek never returned home, Sahrol filed a report to Tangka Marine office. However, the officer that received the report informed her that Dedek was not detained in that office.

On the different day, on January 30, 2014, Sahrol filed a report with the police again, and the report was finally accepted, as report No. TBL-/I/2014/15. Nevertheless, since Sahrol filed the report, she has not received any progress report from the police.

On October 10, 2014, following public and media pressure, the Indonesian Military brought the alleged perpetrators to the Military Court of Medan City, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Six soldiers of Indonesian Navy were tried. The judges sentenced five soldiers with very light punishment, as stated on the verdict letter no 75-K/PM I-02/AL/VI/2014. Please see link here.

The six members of the Navy punished are:

1. Mr. Muliadi Wintoro, Sergeant 1st Class of Marine: 1 year, 3 months
2. Mr. Hari Subandi, Lance Corporal: 1 year, 2 months
3. Mr. Didik Utomo, Private in charge of Marine: 1 year, 3 months,
4. Mr. Wahyu Cahyono, Private in charge of Marine: 1 year, 4 months
5. Mr. Karso, Private in charge of Marine: 1 year, 2 months
6. Mr. Bambang Trinugroho, Marine Captain: 1 year, 5 months 

One of the perpetrators, Mr. Mardiansyah, a soldier of Indonesian Army was releasead without any punishment. AHRC notes that Mardiansyah must be held accountable, because of his role in convincing Dedek before Dedek was abducted that Dedek would return back home safely. Other perpetrators also said they will bring home Dedek back in good physical condition; Dedek has yet to return. 

AHRC would like to note that the military judges have not delved deeper into information on the whereabouts of the victim. Despite the Military court trial being held, the AHRC has learned that Dedek’s family was never informed so that they could attend the trial. The information on trial schedules were never clearly displayed to the public. Several times the trial was suspended with no clear reason. And, according to information received by the AHRC, the person who monitored the trial was prevented to use all form of recorders (such as a voice and video recorder). 

Even after the court issued the verdict No. 74-K/PM I-02/AL/VI2014, Dedek’s family was never informed about the verdict. The AHRC has also learned from Dedek’s family that Bambang Trinugroho’s wife offered a guarantee of providing financial support for Dedek’s children. However, since the Dedek’s family signed the reconciliation letter, the responsibility that was offered by Captain Bambang’s wife has not been fulfilled. 

According to Dedek’s wife, the reason behind their signing the agreement with Captain Bambang’s wife is that after Dedek disappeared the family does not have a source of income; it was only Dedek who worked and provided for the family. Dedek’s wife is a housewife and does not have any job. Therefore, Dedek’s family has been facing serious economic problems. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Under the Soeharto’s dictatorship (1966-1998) enforced disappearances occurred widely in Indonesia. Though Soeharto was forced to step down in 1998, enforced disappearances are still occurring; one such victim is Mr. Dedek Khairuddin. Indonesia has not yet ratified the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Indonesian human rights groups have made much effort, however the government is still reluctant to ratify the Convention.

The enforced disappearances of Mr. Dedek Khairuddin is in violation of the Constitution of Republic of Indonesia (UUD 1945), which, in Article 28 A, states: “[e]very person shall have the right to live and to defend his/her life in existence.” Furthermore, Article 28, paragraph 1, states “[e]very person shall have the right of recognition, guarantees, protection and certainty before a just law, and of equal treatment before the law.”

At the national level, Indonesia has a national law, No 39 of 1999, on Human Rights. Article 4 of this law states “[t]he right to life [….] under the law are human rights that cannot be diminished under any circumstances whatsoever. And, Article 5, paragraph 1, states the following: “[e]veryone is recognized as an individual who has the right to demand and obtain equal treatment and protection before the law as befits his or her human dignity. “ 
Indonesia is a party to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), with the promulgation of the National Law No. 12 of 2005, concerning Ratification of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 4, paragraph 1, of the ICCPR states that “[e]very human being has the inherent right to life….”

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the listed authorities below, asking them to ensure that the Government of Indonesia takes the responsibility of locating Mr. Dedek Khairuddin, and to ensure that the family gets justice and remedy properly without undue delay. 

The government must ensure that the family is able to appeal the verdict to and that all the perpetrators are tried without exception, including that of the possibility of involvement of higher ranked military officers. 
The AHRC is writing separately to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of judges and lawyers.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER