INDONESIA: Medan District Police again bring the Rule-of-Law into dispute with the brutal murder of an innocent man

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear __________,

INDONESIA: Medan District Police again bring the Rule-of-Law into dispute with the brutal murder of an innocent man

Name of victim: Mr. Suherman
Name of alleged perpetrators: 30 yet unidentified men claiming to be Officers of the Medan District Police. 
Date of incident: 11th April 2007
Place of incident: Mr. Suherman’s residence: Trikora 26, Tegal Sari, Medan, Northern Sumatera.  Undisclosed location where the murder took place.

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the cold-blooded murder of Mr. Suherman, for reasons yet unknown, by Police Officers of the Medan District Police on the 11th April 2007.

On the 11th April 2007, at around 3:30a.m., around 30 yet unidentified men claiming to be Medan District Police Officers forced their way into Ms. Supiah’s (the victim’s sister’s) home, demanding to see Mr. Suherman. When  Ms. Supiah replied that Mr. Suherman was not at home, the attackers held him and his family at gunpoint while they proceeded to ransack his home. They seized two mobile phones; this, done without producing a search warrant.

They then forced Ms. Supiah to take them to her brother’s home. Barging into Mr. Suherman’s home, they promptly arrested him, and again without a search warrant, ransacked his home in a similar fashion. According to Mr. Suherman’s wife, Juliana, they seized 50 bracelets, 2 rings, 2 gold necklaces, 5 watches, 2 handbags, 1 ATM card, 4 mobile phones, 1 passport, 3 land-property certificates, 4 motorcycles, 1 car and 109 million Rupiah.

Juliana and their children were then taken to the Medan Sub-District Police Station where they were investigated by the Police. Mr. Suherman was taken in the opposite direction to a yet unknown location. At around 6 a.m, Juliana was informed that her husband’s dead body had been found. Autopsy reports later showed that Mr. Suherman had been shot in the chest. He also suffered bullet wounds to the left side of the navel, and hip. Shockingly, Juliana was not allowed to identify her husband’s body- as is standard police procedure.

It was only at the Bhayangkara Hospital, where Juliana was finally allowed to see her late husband’s body, at 6pm that same day. At the hospital, a police Officer approached Juliana and gave her an envelope containing 500,000 Rupiah “compensation”. At around 7pm., Mr. Suherman’s corpse was brought back to the family residence. Mr. Suherman was laid to rest at the Mandala Memorial Park at 8:30 p.m., that same day.

I understand that Indonesia was elected to the UN Human Rights Council in 2006. As such, it should be made the primary priority of the Indonesian Government to protect and uphold these fundamental human rights for its citizens. More importantly, flagrant abuses by people in state-appointed positions of authority such as seen here should not be tolerated.

I therefore strongly urge you to apply the necessary pressure on the relevant judicial and law-enforcement authorities in the Medan District to conduct an official investigation into Mr. Suherman’s murder, and to take proper prosecutory action against the guilty Officers of the Medan District Police. In addition, adequate compensation should be paid to the victim’s bereaved family without further delay. This is the second case of unlawful arrest and cold-blooded murder of an otherwise innocent civilian by the Medan District Police in this month alone; which is both shocking and completely unacceptable.

Although the reasons for Mr. Wijaya’s murder remain a mystery, that it was committed by state-appointed Police Officers, is a moral outrage and should be treated as such. I also find it hard to understand the reluctance on the part of the Indonesian government to pass appropriate legislation both for preventive and remedial action. The reluctance on the part of the state can be interpreted as condoning this type crime. I trust that you will take immediate action both to remedy the situation and for prevention of such crimes in future.

I look forward to your prompt and effective response in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

1. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono 
President 
Republic of Indonesia 
Presidential Palace 
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara 
Jakarta Pusat 10010 
INDONESIA
Tel: + 62 21 3845627 ext 1003
Fax: + 62 21 231 41 38, 345 2685, 345 7782

2. Mr. Abdul Rahman Saleh
Attorney General
Kejaksaan Agung RI
Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: + 62 21 7221337, 7397602
Fax: + 62 21 7250213

3. Gen. Sutanto
Chief of National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 721 8012
Fax: +62 21 720 7277

4. Mr. Hamid Awaluddin
Minister of Justice and Human Rights 
Uahi Utoyo Usman S.H. 
Menteri Kehkiman
JI. H.R. Rosuna Said Kav. 6-7
Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Fax: +62 21 525 3095

5. Mr. Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara
Chairperson
KOMNAS HAM 
Jl. Latuharhary No. 4B Menteng 
Jakarta Pusat 10310
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3925230
Fax: +62 21 3151042/3925227
E-mail: info@komnasham.or.id

6. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Attn: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme 
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)