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Siyono's death caused by fractured breastbone, autopsy reveals
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The Legal and Human Rights division chairman of Muhammadiyah youth wing, Busyro Muqoddas, (center), forensics doctor team head Gatot Suharto (left) and Commission on Human Rights member Siane Indriani disclose the results of an autopsy performed on the body of alleged terrorist Siyono at the Komnas HAM office on Monday. The autopsy revealed that it was the only one performed on Siyono and that a rib had pierced his heart. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
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n alleged terrorist, Siyono, died as a result of a broken rib piercing his heart, an independent autopsy overseen by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the Muhammadiyah’s youth wing and the Forensics Physicians Organization revealed on Monday.
The autopsy, conducted by nine doctors from the Central Java branch of the Indonesian Forensics Physicians Organization, revealed that Siyono had been hit by a blunt object that resulted in five ribs on the left side and one on the right side of his chest being broken. One of the bones pierced his heart, which led to his death, Komnas HAM commissioner Siane Indriani said on Monday.
Another wound found was on Siyono's head, which the police previously claimed had resulted in his death. However, the team found no signs of hemorrhaging in the brain and the autopsy showed that the head wound was not the cause of death.
"No signs showing that Siyono had fought or defended himself from an attack was found during the autopsy either," Sianer said in a press conference.
Muhammadiyah youth wing chairman Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak said the autopsy indicated that the police had lied when they claimed that Siyono had fought with an officer while in custody.
Dahnil also said the autopsy was the only one conducted on Siyono's body, despite police claiming that one had been performed at Kramat Jati Hospital in Jakarta. The police announced that Siyono had died from a brain hemorrhage after attempting to escape and fighting with an officer escorting him by car.
"The police's claim about hemorrhaging being the cause of Siyono’s death is false, since no autopsy was conducted before," he said.
The team of forensics doctors also found bruises on Siyono's back, leading to the assumption that he may have been hit with a hard object.
Rori Haryono, a doctor from Diponegoro University’s School of Medicine in Semarang who assisted in the autopsy, said that based on anatomic pathology, there were indications that the wounds on Siyono's body were made while he was still alive.
The autopsy was not too difficult to carry out as the dead body experienced saponification, in which the body did not decompose quickly has it had been buried in moist soil, Rori said.
Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organization in the country, agreed to arrange the autopsy as requested by Siyono's wife, Suratmi, who had appealed for it to help her find justice for her late husband.
PP Muhammadiyah Legal and Human Rights Division Busyro Muqoddas said the organization had agreed to Suratmi’s request for the sake of transparent autopsy results.
Siyono, a resident of Dukuh village, Pogung, Klaten, Central Java, died on March 11 while in police custody. The National Police's Densus 88 counterterrorism squad arrested Siyono on allegations of involvement in terrorism.
He is the 121st person to have died after being arrested by Densus 88 since the police unit for counterterrorism was established on Aug. 26, 2004, according to Komnas HAM data. (rin)
