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AGO appeals against 'Bloody Paniai' ruling
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has filed an appeal against a human rights court ruling that acquitted the sole defendant in the 2014 fatal shooting of civilians in Papua's Paniai regency, as rights groups are pushing for reinvestigation.
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Stock illustration of the scales of justice and human rights (Shutterstock/garagestoc)
T
he Attorney General's Office (AGO) has filed an appeal against the human rights court ruling that acquitted the sole defendant in the 2014 fatal shooting of civilians in Papua's Paniai regency, as rights groups are pushing for reinvestigation.
The Makassar Human Rights Court in South Sulawesi ruled in December 2022 that the Bloody Paniai incident was a gross human rights violation but found Isak Sattu, a retired army major and the only accused on trial in relation to the case, was not guilty of “crimes against humanity.” Isak, who was a liaison officer with the Paniai Military Command (Kodim) at the time of the incident, was cleared of all charges.
Two judges on the five-member bench dissented, saying that Isak was guilty for failing to stop the shooting as part of his duty. AGO prosecutors had demanded that Isak be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
AGO spokesman Ketut Sumedana told The Jakarta Post that the request for a cassation appeal was filed with the Supreme Court sometime before the 14-day deadline.
Commenting on demands by rights activists, he said the AGO had no plan to reopen the case or investigate any other potential suspects so far.
“We will be waiting for the Supreme Court's cassation ruling. If the ruling says anyone must be held accountable [for the gross human rights violation], then yes [we can reinvestigate]," Ketut said recently.
The fatal shooting of civilians in Paniai occurred on Dec. 8, 2014, when security forces opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators protesting the alleged beating of a youth the previous day by members of the Indonesian Military (TNI). Five people, including four teenagers, were killed during the incident and 21 other civilians were injured.
