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Brutality still ‘rampant’ in police force
The National Police celebrate their 73rd anniversary on July 1. However, human rights watchdog still has plenty of critics against the police force.
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Police fired tear gas to Protesters during a riot near the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 22, 2019. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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s the National Police commemorated their 73rd anniversary on Monday, human rights watchdogs leveled a number of criticisms at the force, including for excessive use of violence, biased law enforcement measures against certain groups as well as a lack of neutrality during the 2019 general election.
The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said violence by police personnel was still rampant at every level of police forces across the country.
According to an observation conducted by the watchdog between June 2018 and May 2019, there were at least 643 cases of excessive use of force by police personnel. Such cases resulted in the death of at least 651 people, injury of at least 247 people as well as the arrest of 856 individuals from various backgrounds; including criminals, civilians and university students.
Kontras coordinator Yati Andriyani said the rampant cases of violence had occurred as a result of the police using their discretionary powers upon facing dangerous situations or arresting criminals.
“There is a gap of understanding in interpreting such rights, which usually leads to abuse of power by personnel on the ground,” she said at a press briefing in Jakarta on Monday.
A case of alleged police brutality that made headlines occurred during riots on May 21 and 22 in Jakarta. The riots erupted in the wake of a postelection protest held by supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto to oppose the reelection of incumbent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
Activists claimed the police were seen hitting dozens of rioters arrested for allegedly instigating the riots. The force was also suspected of making false arrests of people not related to the protest and riots.
