Paralyzed: Councilors help Iwan Mulyadi, the victim of a 2006 police shooting, during a protest rally at the West Sumatra Legislative Council in the provincial capital of Padang on Tuesday
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Iwan Mulyadi, 25, was downcast as he read out parts of a letter that he had written to President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo in front of the West Sumatra provincial legislative council building on Tuesday.
Iwan read out that when he was in junior high school back in 2006, he was shot by a police officer from the Kinali police precinct, West Pasaman regency. The shooting had paralyzed him permanently.
He said the President and the National Police were responsible for his paralysis. 'The court has said so. Don't you forget. You and the National Police owe me Rp 300 million (about US$22,000),' he said haltingly.
Quoting the court's ruling on his case, Iwan demanded that the President obey the law and give him his rights. 'Sir, I am waiting for justice,' he said.
Nine years ago, when Iwan was 16 years old, he was with his friend, Aken, when First Brig. Nofrizal came to his house in plain clothes with a warrant to investigate a stone-pelting case that allegedly involved Iwan.
While holding Aken, who came out of Iwan's house first, Nofrizal fired his Taurus Colt .38 revolver into the air, telling Iwan to come out of the house or otherwise he would shoot him.
When Iwan came out of the house, stepping down the stairs of his house with the policeman to his back, Nofrizal suddenly shot him. Nofrizal and Aken then rushed Iwan to the hospital.
The bullet hit his spinal cord, and Iwan was completely paralyzed from his waist down. He spent almost a month at the hospital and during that time, Nofrizal only visited him once, asking for an amicable settlement by giving him a wheelchair.
Since then, Iwan has been unable to move much without the help of others. He cannot even turn his body in bed or move to his wheelchair.
Nofrizal was sentenced to 18 months in prison for severe persecution but was not dismissed from the police. He is currently serving in a police precinct in Padang, the capital of the province.
With assistance from the West Sumatra branch of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), Iwan's father Nazar filed a civil lawsuit against the National Police because Nofrizal was operating under a police warrant when he committed the shooting.
In 2008, the West Pasaman District Court demanded that the National Police pay compensation of Rp 300 million to Iwan. The Padang Higher Court upheld the ruling two years later and the Supreme Court turned down the police's appeal in the case in 2011
'In 2012, we proposed the implementation of the ruling, but up till now, Iwan has still not received his rights and his dues even though the ruling has a fixed legal force,' West Sumatra PBHI chairman Wengki Purwanto said.
Chairman of the West Sumatra legislative council's Commission I, Marlis, who received Iwan on Tuesday, said that the council last year had discussed the case with West Sumatra Police Chief Brig. Gen. Bambang Sri Herwanto.
'The police chief said that the challenge was that the fund had to be included in the state budget through the National Police and this took time,' Marlis said.
He promised to discuss the matter with council speakers and ask about the compensation directly at National Police headquarters.
Separately, Iwan hoped that the President would hear of his letter and pay the compensation soon. 'I will continue fighting for my rights,' he said.
Indonesian Police Watch recorded 13 cases of wrongful shootings committed by police in 2014, which left seven people dead and injured 20 others.
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