T

he Jakarta Police’s alleged brutality is in the spotlight again after three men — Herianto, 21, Aris, 33, and Bihin, 38 — claim to have been tortured into confessing to stealing a motorcycle in Bekasi, West Java, last year.

The family members of the suspects claim to have proof that they were in their hometown of Palembang, South Sumatra, when the theft took place in June last year, said Bunga Siagian from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), who represents the suspects.

Despite insufficient evidence, the three have been named suspects in the case.

They filed a pretrial motion with the South Jakarta District Court in relation to the case, with the first hearing scheduled for last Monday, but was adjourned because the police failed to show up.

“We suspect the Jakarta Police did not attending the hearing so the motion would be automatically deemed void. We are lamenting their lack of cooperation,” Bunga said, adding that the hearing would resume on Monday.

The three suspects, who are employed as drivers and a mechanic, were arrested on April 7. The police tortured them for days in an attempt to force them to confess for a crime they did not commit, she claimed.

“They were beaten, kicked, electrocuted and spit on [by investigators] prior to confessing to the accusation,” Bunga said during a press briefing at LBH Jakarta in Menteng, Central Jakarta, last week.

Herianto’s sister, 29-year-old Lastri, who was also present at the briefing, showed pictures of her brother’s injuries.

She added that family members were notified about the arrests a week after they had been detained.

Bunga said extracting statements from alleged perpetrators under duress was a rampant practice in the police force. In the last three years, LBH Jakarta has recorded at least 12 wrongful convictions, she added.

The South Jakarta District Court ruled last year in favor of street performers Andro Supriyanto and Nurdin Priyanto, who filed lawsuits against the Jakarta Police for wrongful convictions, which forced them to stay behind bars for 11 months.

The court also ordered the state to give Rp 36 million (US$2,705) in compensation to each of them, which until now had not been disbursed, Bunga said.

They were previously declared innocent by the South Jakarta High Court and the Supreme Court in a 2013 murder case, but were forced to confess after undergoing torture by the Jakarta Police.

Bunga called on the central government and lawmakers to start deliberating a law that strictly prohibited any kind of torture, as outlined in the International Convention Against Torture.

She added that anyone who committed torture should be heavily punished.

Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr Argo Yuwono said police adhered to a code of ethics in carrying out their duties and always upheld the presumption of innocence when investigating a case.

He added that police would respect the outcome of the court ruling.

“We’ll see in court,” he said. (dea)