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View all search resultsScholars back lawsuit against minister’s denial of 1998 mass rape
A group of law experts filed an amicus curiae brief in support of a lawsuit against Culture Minister Fadli Zon’s denial of the 1998 mass rapes, as an expert witness testified that the denial had entrenched impunity.
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An activist attends a Kamisan (Thursdays) silent protest in front of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on May 17, 2018, demanding justice for the deaths during riots amid the fall of former president Suharto in May 1998. (AFP/Madeira)
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everal well-known scholars and lawyers have banded together in an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of a lawsuit against Culture Minister Fadli Zon’s denial of the 1998 mass rapes, as an expert witness testified that his statement perpetuated a culture of impunity.
In the brief filed earlier this week, 18 law professors and legal practitioners grouped under the Constitution and Administrative Law Society (CALS) urged the Jakarta State Administrative Court to consider legal and social impacts arising from Fadli’s denial, particularly on the rape victims and their families.
“Public statements made by officials are not merely personal opinions but considered public policy, as they are delivered in an official capacity and could influence public perceptions,” the group said on Tuesday. “We [the amici] agree that such statements should consider principles of accountability and empathy.”
Among the amici are constitutional law professors Susi Dwi Harijanti of Padjadjaran University, Zainal Arifin Mochtar of Gadjah Mada University, law expert and pro-democracy activist Bivitri Susanti and lawyer Denny Indrayana, who is also a former deputy law minister.
Their brief was filed in support of seven plaintiffs who have accused Fadli of committing an unlawful act as a government official last year when he publicly claimed that there was no evidence substantiating the mass rapes of Chinese-Indonesian women during the May 1998 riots, which preceded the fall of then-president Soeharto and his authoritarian regime.
Read also: Witnesses in 1998 mass rape lawsuit tell court of attempt to erase history
In their brief, the scholars also said that Fadli’s denial of the mass rape had revictimized survivors and victims’ families. “[Fadli’s] statement not only portrays the victims' traumatic experiences as mere fictional narratives, but also systematically erodes the efforts for recovery and reconciliation that have been fought for, for so long,” the amici said.
