T

he Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) has encouraged relatives of criminal suspects that were shot by police in their latest shoot-on-sight policy to report the incident to the group.

The policy was implemented to secure the Asian Games and has led to the shooting deaths of 11 suspected muggers.

Forty-one others have been severely injured so far.

LBH Jakarta set up on Wednesday a post dedicated to receiving reports from the family members of suspects that were gunned down by police.

“We received a call earlier from relatives of a detained robbery suspect. They were afraid that he would be shot,” LBH Jakarta fair trial advocate Arif Maulana said on Wednesday.

“We opened this post to assist the family [of suspects] in their quest to pursue justice.”

Earlier this month, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Idham Aziz instructed officers to take firm measures against alleged street criminals, including by shooting those who resist arrests, as they began efforts to secure the city ahead of the Games, which will kick off on Aug. 18.

There had been growing alarm across the city following a string of sometimes violent robberies, some of which involved government officials as victims.

More than 2,000 people have been arrested in connection to the crimes in the past two weeks, of which 320 were later named suspects, LBH Jakarta reported.

The group slammed the policy for being “exaggerated”, arguing that it could be misused, given the high number of alleged suspects being fatally shot without receiving a fair trial.

The killings violate National Police Chief Regulation (Perkap) No. 8/2009 on the implementation of human rights standards and principles in organizing police duties, said Shaleh Al Ghifari, a lawyer with LBH Jakarta.

“Shooting alleged criminals is the last resort; it can only be used if [the suspects] threaten the life of officers. And the police must not aim at vital organs,” he said.

“But in reality, a suspect was shot in the back, which means he had not been in a position to attack the police.”

He demanded that the police explain the rationale behind their shootings to the alleged suspects’ families.

“We urge the Ombudsman, the National Commission on Human Rights [Komnas HAM], the National Police Commission [Kompolnas] and the police’s internal affairs division [Propam] to investigate the actions [of officers] that resulted in extrajudicial killings,” Arif said.

He added that the presumption of innocence should not be ignored even when the cases involved known petty criminals.

The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) issued a similar statement on Tuesday, calling on the police to end their shoot-on-sight policy.

“Extrajudicial killing is a serious violation. The suspects deserve to be brought to court and receive fair trial,” said ICJR executive director Anggara.

“They cannot defend themselves if they have lost their lives.”