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Cebongan prison killings declared a human rights violation
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says that the murder of police detainees by a group of the Armyâs Special Forces (Kopassus) soldiers was a human rights violation and is urging for the military tribunal to explore the case to find more possible actors
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he National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says that the murder of police detainees by a group of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) soldiers was a human rights violation and is urging for the military tribunal to explore the case to find more possible actors.
Komnas HAM, the sole institution authorized to make such judgment, announced on Wednesday that the incident in Sleman 'Cebongan' Prison in Yogyakarta, met the criteria to be considered a human rights violation as stipulated by the 1999 Human Rights Law.
The announcement was made ahead of first hearing for the 12 members of Kopassus' Kandang Menjangan Group. In its two-point recommendation, the commission not only urged the court to hold a fair and independent trial but to also explore whether or not higher-ranking officials were involved in the case.
'It is important to see whether or not their superiors were involved,' commission member Nur Kholis told a press conference on Wednesday.
Two weeks after the incident, Diponegoro Military Regional Command chief Maj. Gen. Hardiono Saroso and Yogyakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Sabar Rahardjo were removed from their posts.
Nur Kholis added, however, that the commission had yet to explore whether or not higher ranking officials in Jakarta, including Kopassus Commandant Maj. Gen. Agus Sutomo, were involved or knew about the attack plan.
