In January 2011, my neighbour reported to the Rungkut Sub-District Police that his television set was missing. On February 8, two police officers arrested me without a warrant. The officers took me to an empty mosque in Surabaya where they and four other police officers joined together in torturing me to confess that I stole my neighbour’s television set. My legs, knees and feet were beaten with a tree branch about 5-7 cm thick and 1-2 meter long. While my hands were cuffed they kicked me in the head. They wrapped my head in four layers of plastic bags, strangling me until I could hardly breathe.
From the mosque, they took me by car to the East Java Regional Police Station, torturing me on the way. My head continued to be wrapped with plastic bags, my hands still cuffed, my neck still compressed as they rained down blows on my head and my stomach. For the first three days in detention, I was interrogated and tortured for refusing to sign the police investigation report. During this time my entire body was continuously punched. After I repeatedly refused to sign the report, the police forged my signature.
For 53 days, I was detained at the police station. I was not allowed to receive visits from anybody, including my own family. In addition, I was asked to pay IDR 2,500,000 (around USD 250) supposedly as ‘room payment’. If I did not pay, they would force me to sleep in the toilet. I had also to pay for two meals, served at 9am and 4pm each day. The food was always the same, a small amount of rice and tofu. To survive, I had to ask my relatives to give food to the family of my fellow inmates so they can pass it to me when they visit. Weekly my family gave me IDR 200,000- 300,000 (USD 20-30).
Later I was transferred to the Mekaeng detention centre where I remained for another four months but was not tortured. However I had to spend a large amount of money while in custody for a variety of things. All newly admitted detainees were put in a 7 x 9 meter room called a quarantine cell which could hold about 100 persons. For the first four days, I could not sleep because of the severe overcrowding. I could not lie on my back so I had to sleep in a sitting position. I decided to pay IDR 350,000 (USD 35) to the staff at the registry office to be transferred to a cell with more room. In addition to this, I also paid IDR 20,000 (USD 2) each as payment for registration and for my photograph to be taken. All the detainees were obliged to have our heads shaved by a barber inside the prison. If you wanted a decent haircut it cost you IDR 50,000 (USD 5). Refusing to pay meant that they would shave your head bald. Each detainee in the quarantine cell had to pay IDR 20,000 (USD 2) for cleaning. If you refused to pay, the prison guards would every day repeatedly remind you and demand that you pay.
My detention cell required a larger fee. In each block there are inmate coordinators (tahanan pendamping) who collect various types of fees from the detainees. For instance, I had to pay a ‘weekly fee’ of IDR 25,000 (USD 2.5). The food that they served was not fit for human consumption. The smell of the salted fish that they served was so terrible that even cats and rats would not touch it. You can eat the rice only when it is warm because after an hour it becomes foul smelling. All the detainees usually prefer to buy their own food, but if they have no money there is no choice but to eat the food that was served.
During my detention, my relatives were allowed to visit on condition that they pay IDR 15,000 (USD 1.5) for each visit. I recall they visited me four times a month. Detention was very costly for me and my family. I estimated it cost about IDR 80 million (USD 8,000).
The torture together with the fabrication of charges that I have experienced made a huge impact on my life, physically, psychologically, socially. My body was left with a crushed right knee, partial vision in my left eye coupled with a hearing loss in my left ear. When I am using the phone, the person at the other line has to speak very loud; otherwise I cannot hear them properly. No medical treatment was provided for the injuries I sustained. The police station had no medical services available. Some of the detainees were sick or had diarrhoea but there were no medicines for them.
My personal life was deeply affected. On the day of my arrest, I was in the middle of preparing for my wedding which was supposed to take place on March 14. All preparations for my wedding were in place and invitation letters had been printed. I only needed to go through the religious ceremony. My arrest ruined everything. I spent quite a bit of money to prepare for my wedding that never took place because of my arrest. I lost my job, I lost my friends and now my neighbours are avoiding me. In Indonesia, if you live in a village there is a stigma attached to those who had been imprisoned. You must be bad. For this reason I chose to hide, living a solitary existence. Up to now I have no job.
The District and Supreme Courts acquitted me. But it was too late because I already lost everything. This situation adversely affected my whole life. The courts had given orders requiring the government to compensate me and afford me some rehabilitation, but this did not happen. Neither the police nor the prosecutors complied with the court orders. I filed complaints to Komnas HAM and the Indonesian National Police demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice. As of this date, there is no progress. I also filed a complaint with the PROPAM. I was informed that administrative sanctions had already been imposed on the police officers. What sanctions have been imposed I do not know. They could have told me, for instance, that the responsible officers were suspended. They just told me sanctions had been imposed involving the torture and fabricated charges laid against me. During the hearing conducted by PROPAM, the police officers examining my complaint said that my case was not about whether torture had taken place but whether the officers had acted unprofessionally. I responded by telling them it was clear that the police officers involved were not acting professionally when they tortured me. They said the police were only inquiring into whether or not they had breached the Code of Conduct.
I filed a complaint with the criminal unit of the East Java Regional Police but they refused to take my complaint. At the end of August, I reported to the headquarters of the Indonesian National Police. My complaint was taken but then they transferred the case back to the police in East Java Regional Police, who did nothing. I sent a second letter of complaint to the headquarters of the police including the Chief of the Indonesian National Police, the Witnesses and Victims Protection Agency and the President. Copies were sent to many others but sadly to say I have not received any responses up to date.
Komnas HAM has not responded to my complaint. They told me they have sent a letter to the East Java Regional Police but I have not heard of any follow up made after that. The National Commission on Police also sent a letter twice to the East Java Regional Police but I was not informed about it. I went to the East Java Regional Police demanding my right to compensation and rehabilitation. I met with the high ranking officials of the criminal investigation unit. In response to my demands, the police commissioner told me: “If you want to get compensation, ask the angels. If you want to file a complaint against me, please feel free to do so. I am waiting for that, I am not afraid.”
Most torture victims do not want to file a complaint for fear of reprisals. Apart from that, it takes money and courage. In my case, I was eager to file a complaint because I do not want others to suffer as I have suffered. I want to show that the police cannot abuse poor people indiscriminately as an ongoing policy. I am demanding justice for myself and for all those other people who had experiences similar to mine.
After filing a complaint to fight for my rights, I began receiving threats. I received a variety of text messages from unknown senders; “Do not complain. If you do so, I will kill you!”; “If you want to report, please feel free. I am waiting and I am not afraid”; “Do you want to die or do you want to be crippled?”; “Do you want to die or do you want to be safe?” If you want to die then file a complaint. If you don’t want to die, do not complain.” On one occasion, police officers came to my home asking my family about my whereabouts. This is the reason why I went into hiding and moved from one place to another. I also had to move from one city to another for my own safety.
I reported the threats to PROPAM but they did not advance my case. I also showed them the threatening text messages giving them the names of individuals who came to my house as well as their facial description. But my complaint was ignored.
I came to know later why the police arrested and tortured me.
I was told at the time of my arrest that Untung S. Rajab, chief of the East Java Regional Police, was newly appointed to his post. The police officers in East Java were showing off their diligence to their new superior by arresting people. They set a target of how many people they would arrest in a month. If they failed to meet their target, they would be publically humiliated during police meetings. Untung was known for the high number of arrests of alleged criminals in his jurisdiction. After only three months, Untung was promoted to Chief of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police. I believe there is a link between the high rate of arrests and his promotion. The police arrest people according to the targets they set up. It explains why they arrest people arbitrarily.
I bear no resentment for the police in general. However, for the police officers who tortured me, of course I want them to be brought to justice. The kind of justice I want is: those who are guilty are punished and must acknowledge what they did was wrong. The Head of the Criminal Unit and the East Java Regional Police must admit openly that: ‘yes, some of our officers have committed wrongdoings’.
As of now, the torturers refuse to acknowledge and admit their wrongdoing. They did not show any remorse for what they did to me. In fact, the higher ranking police officers continue to defend their subordinates saying: ‘my officers have done the right thing. They have acted in accordance with the laws and standard operational procedures’. Their continued denial of wrong-doing does not make sense to me. If the officers had not done anything wrong, why did PROPAM issue them a warning letter? Why did PROPAM sanction them? Why did the courts acquit me?
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I only want the police officers to be held accountable. Everybody makes mistakes and commits wrongdoings. Those who have a conscience would admit that they did something wrong and apologize. The police officers in the East Java Regional Police who tortured me did not show any remorse. Instead they kept on insulting me calling me: liar, thief and criminal. If I am a thief, a liar and a criminal, how do they explain the fact that the courts have acquitted me? Surely this means I am innocent and I was tortured. Why do the police continue to vilify me?
I have been seeking support from the media and NGOs for a campaign that would help my case. I have compiled a simple magazine, about 20 pages long, which describes my case. I will disseminate this to all district police stations in Indonesia. I will ride my bicycle across all of Indonesia to spread the word about what the police have done to me. They have not been held truly accountable for their actions.
I have hope. I still believe that justice will prevail in the end.
