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Advocacy groups report police’s handling of protesters to human rights commission
According to reports received by LBH Jakarta, the relatives of 73 people arrested during the Sept. 30 protests still do not know their whereabouts, while the organization also believes 26 people arrested during the Sept. 24 and 25 protests remain in detention.
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Face to face: Students try to break through a police line to get into the legislative complex in Central Jakarta on Sept. 24. (JP/Narabeto Korohama)
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ublic advocacy groups united under the Democracy Advocacy Team filed reports they had gathered in relation to the police's alleged repressive measures against demonstrators that took part in a series of protests in Jakarta recently to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Wednesday, demanding the commission launch an investigation into the matter.
Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) lawyer Nelson Simamora — a member of the team — deplored the police for not granting lawyers access to provide legal assistance to detained demonstrators, many of whom are minors, as well as for not informing their relatives of their detainment.
“Legal assistance for those detained is a civil right. Obstructing this could be considered a legal and civil rights violation,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Nelson said the team experienced difficulties providing legal assistance, especially early on after the protesters were detained on Sept. 24, with the police limiting their access to the detained protesters.
“Even after we [lawyers] gained a letter of attorney from the families of the detainees, the police still obstructed us, saying they [the detainees] were being questioned. I believe that's against the law,” he said.
According to the police, more than 150 people were detained during the protests on Sept. 24 and 25. However, from the complaints received by LBH Jakarta after it opened a complaint center on Sept. 25, the organization believes 26 people remain in detention.
From the protest on Sept. 30, police say they detained at least 600 people. LBH Jakarta, meanwhile, has recorded that 73 people have yet to be returned home, according to reports the organization received from families via its complaint center.
