According to a Jakarta Legal Institute (LBH) survey, 83.65
percent of 367 detainees undergoing police investigation between
January 2007 and January 2008 said they had experienced police
brutality during the process.
Among them were 22 children under 18 years old.
The survey, carried out in Jakarta and surrounding areas, also
showed that 24.25 percent of total respondents were threatened at
gun point by police during the investigations.
There are three types of violence: physical, non-physical and
sexual.
The highest findings on forms of physical violence were
beatings, with 158 respondents, kicking 94 respondents and
slapping 93 respondents. Other forms included being dragged,
experienced by 39 respondents, and blindfolded, experienced by 16
respondents.
In terms of non-physical violence, 159 respondents claimed to
have been yelled at, 898 held at gun point and 44 stripped.
Some respondents had their feet shot after giving in to the
police or chest stomped on by police.
Respondents were also electrocuted and stabbed by a third party -- the victims of the crime the detainee is suspected of
-- with the consent and order from the police.
"According to the respondents, aforesaid violence has an
objective in relation to the alleged criminal act. It was meant
to obtain confession and information," the survey says.
A conclusion in the survey says that the patterns of violence
found in the 2007 research was comparable to earlier research
carried out in 2005, with a slight increase in police brutality.
The 2005 research says that 81.1 percent or equal to 535
detainees in Jakarta and greater Jakarta admitted that they
experienced torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
To prevent such acts from happening in the future, LBH
suggests the Indonesian Criminal Procedural Code and the
Indonesian Criminal Code should be amended with a strong focus on
the reduction of detention duration, victim rehabilitation and
proof of the value of information obtained by tortured.(and)
