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he Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) reported on Monday that from May to August it received several reports of extreme violence perpetrated by officers of the National Police against criminal suspects.

According to the commission advocacy department deputy coordinator Yati Andriyani, the violence occurred during questioning sessions. '€œSeven persons died and 16 were severely injured after being questioned by the police,'€ Yati told reporters at the group'€™s office in Central Jakarta.

She said that the reported violence took place in police offices in Samarinda regency, East Kalimantan; East Lampung regency, Lampung; Bangka regency, Bangka Belitung; and Widang district, East Java.

Two of the victims were 12 and 16 year old children, identified only as VA and RS, respectively.

VA was questioned by Widang Police after being accused of stealing a neighbor'€™s motorcycle. The commission said that during the questioning, VA was tortured by the police. '€œVA was finally released as he was not guilty,'€ Yati added

However RS died after being tortured by the Samarinda Police over his alleged involvement in a motorcycle theft case. '€œRS was tortured and forced to confess,'€ said Kontras activist Arif Nurfikri.

Arif condemned the actions of the police in these cases, as they had apprehended the suspects without investigating the cases thoroughly and without sufficient evidence.

Another Kontras member Putri Kanesia said the police had breached Article 17 of the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) in those cases.

'€œAccording to [Article 17], police should gather enough initial evidence in a case before arresting someone,'€ Putri said.

Yati also pointed out that all human rights watchdogs such as the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) and the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) should be more active in monitoring police officers.

'€œWe also hope that the National Police do not protect their members who have committed violence,'€ Yati added.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto declined to comment on the Kontras'€™ findings as he needed to check on whether the cases had been reported to the National Police.

He hoped Kontras would report its findings to the police to allow investigation. '€œThey should report to the police if they found any cases of violent abuse involving our members,'€ Agus told The Jakarta Post.

Agus said the National Police always held training for all of its members to increase their skills, especially investigation skills.

'€œWe routinely hold training for our members through the human resource department,'€ he added. (ind)