Afghan migrants escape in Kupang
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang | Thu, 08/26/2010 10:03 AM
Seventeen Afghan illegal immigrants in detention went on a rampage and vandalized the immigration center in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), before escaping Wednesday.
The asylum seekers broke through a reinforced bathroom wall using wooden beams and other hard objects, said Kupang detention center warden I Gusti Ngurah Rai.
“They escaped through the bathroom wall and broke through iron bars,” Gusti said.
The breakout took place two weeks after 44 illegal immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and Turkey escaped Kupang by scaling the facility’s seven-meter wall, he added.
“One of the 17 illegal aliens was caught after local residents beat him, since they thought the escapees were thieves hiding in the bushes near their homes,” said Ngurah Rai.
After successfully breaking through the bathroom wall, the Afghans scaled a three-meter wall using a rope fashioned from their clothing, he said.
“One of the illegal immigrants who was beaten by the residents is again being held at the Kupang immigration detention center,” said Ngurah Rai.
Justice and Human Rights Ministry’s local immigration office chief Rindang Napitupulu said the detention center was overwhelmed and could not control its detainees due to a small guard force.
“The illegal immigrants held at the center number in the hundreds, while only 10 officers are on hand — five of them women,” said Napitupulu.
The immigration office has asked for police assistance to capture the Afghans and investigate the escape, Napitupulu said, adding that he suspected that oragnized immigrant smugglers may be involved.
Last week, the NTT Justice and Human Rights Office moved 140 illegal immigrants from several Middle Eastern countries from Kupang to other detention centers: 60 to Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands; 40 to Manado, North Sulawesi; and 40 to Denpasar, Bali.
The relocation was carried out with the approval of the Justice and Human Rights Ministry due to the limited capacity of the Kupang detention center, which had been holding 409 people, well above its official capacity of 66, as previously reported.
