INDONESIA: Another pro-independence activist killed in custody — police fabricate a story to justify the killing 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you that the Indonesian National Police has killed and injured pro-independence activists in a shooting in Papua. Witnesses reported the activists were instantly shot by the police despite the fact that they did not pose a threat. The police admitted shooting the victims but justified it as necessary. They claimed they were suspects in previous bombing of Jayawijaya District Legislative Office and the attack on the Pirime sub-district police station.

CASE NARRATIVE:

The AHRC has received information from a local activist that Simeon Daby, Chairman of West Papua National Committee’s (Komite Nasional Papua Barat, KNPB) branch in Wamena, Meki Kogoya and Wene Helakombo were arrested by the police on 15 December 2012. Simeon, Meki and Wene are members of the KNPB listed as suspects in the bombing of the Jayawijaya District Legislative Office and the attack on the Pirime sub-district police station.

The police threatened the three activists at gun point and forced them to give information on the whereabouts of the other suspects. Meki had to call Hubertus Mabel, another suspect also attached to the KNPB, asking him to have a meeting.

The next day, 16 December 2012 at 11.30am, the police came to Milima in Kurulu District where Meki and Hubertus agreed to meet. Hubertus, who was accompanied by Natalis Alua, approached a car in which he thought Meki was travelling only to find that it was full of police officers allegedly from the counter-terrorism unit, the 88 Detachment (Densus 88). As Hubertus opened the door, the police officers wearing civilian clothes pointed their guns at him. Hubertus and Natalis were told to lie on the ground and the police started shooting them in their legs. What happened afterwards is still not known but Hubertus and Natalis were later found at the Jayawijaya Public Hospital. Hubertus had died from bullet wounds to his body and a deep stab wound on his chest. Natalis had severe injuries in his legs.

Adj. Sr. Comr, I Gede Sumerta Jaya, spokesman of the Papua Regional Police, told the press that after talking on the phone with a suspect arrested by the police for possession of ammunition, ‘MJ’, Hubertus came to meet with him with four other people carrying machetes. As reported by the Jakarta Globe, the spokesman of the police said: ‘He angrily tried to attack and rob the firearm carried by the personnel so that a scuffle developed and the firearm almost got taken. One of the special team members then shot him in the foot in order to immobilize him’. The police failed to mention anything about the wound found on Hubertus’s chest but only claimed that Hubertus’ death was due to the fact that he ‘Lost a lot of blood’.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Under international human rights law, the lethal use of force by law enforcement officials may be justified provided the tests of ‘necessity’ and ‘proportionality’ are fulfilled. The test of necessity requires law enforcement officials to only exercise lethal measures for the purpose of protecting life, whereas the test of proportionality deals with the question of how much force might be permissible to reach such purpose. To ensure law enforcement officials who abuse the use of lethal measures do not enjoy impunity, an effective review procedure examining whether the aforementioned tests are met shall be established. It is not for the authority of the police to determine whether a use of lethal measure was proportionate and necessary, but independent administrative or prosecutorial authorities.

Such effective and independent review mechanism does not exist in Indonesia as of today, despite the fact that police officers often use lethal measures against individuals who do not pose any imminent threat to anybody’s life. Previously in June this year, the Secretary General of KNPB Mako Tabuni was shot to death by police officers. Shortly after the shooting, the Chief of the Indonesian National Police claimed that Mako was trying to grab the officer’s weapon as they were arresting him. Although many witnesses testified that Mako did not pose any harm but was just going to get his breakfast when the police shot him, there was no independent mechanism available for Mako’s family or anybody else to challenge the Chief’s statement. The only legal mechanism can be pursued in the shooting cases of Mako Tabuni, Hubertus Mabel or other similar cases is to lodge a complaint with the police. This virtually denies the complainants of the possibility of having of having the case investigated impartially.

As a result, not only those who are responsible for the disproportionate and unnecessary shootings remain unpunished but also the systematic arbitrary use of lethal measures by law enforcement officials. Law enforcement officials in Indonesia can easily get rid of anybody as they wish — all they need to do is coming up with a false story to make it appears justifiable for them to shoot one to death.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the listed authorities below, urging them to conduct an effective and independent investigation on the death of Hubertus Mabel and the shooting of Natalis Alua. Please also highlight that in this case the police had used threats in order to obtain information from Meki Kogoya, Simeon Daby and Wene Helakombo.

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, asking for his intervention in this matter.

 

 

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