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Former TNI officer in ‘Bloody Paniai’ trial
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trial relating to a 2014 gross human rights violation that occurred in Paniai regency in Papua began on Wednesday at the Makassar Human Rights Court in South Sulawesi, with a retired military officer standing accused as the sole defendant in the case.
The defendant is Maj. Gen. (ret.) Isak Sattu, who was a liaison officer for the Paniai Military Command (Kodim) at the time of the incident. He has been indicted for not having taken appropriate steps to prevent the incident from occurring.
Prosecutor Erryl Prima Putra Agoes said that around the time of the incident, one of Isak's subordinates fired a warning shot and asked for Isak’s directions.
“However, the defendant did not instruct his subordinates to take no action, to prevent or to stop the shooting and violence that resulted in the death of four civilians," Erryl said, as quoted by Antara.
If found guilty, Isak could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Makassar Human Rights Court, according to the 2000 Human Rights Tribunals Law, has the jurisdiction to hear cases that occurred in Papua.
Stringent security measures were in place and hundreds of police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel were deployed to secure the trial on Wednesday, local news reported.
The trial was adjourned until Wednesday of next week to hear testimony from witnesses.
The incident, also referred to as Bloody Paniai, occurred when security forces opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators during a protest in Paniai on Dec. 8, 2014. Five people, including four high school students, were reportedly killed during the incident, and 21 other civilians were injured.
Read also: Paniai trial set to start early this month in Makassar
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), which has the authority to conduct a preliminary investigation to determine whether or not a case constitutes a violation, concluded in early 2020 that Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers had committed “gross human rights violations” by killing and persecuting civilians.
But the case stalled after the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) returned the preliminary investigation dossiers submitted by Komnas HAM in 2020, reportedly citing administrative errors.
Survivors and family members of the victims, however, remain pessimistic that the ongoing trial can bring about justice. They say the legal proceedings are opaque and marred by irregularities.
“In such a big case, only one person is a suspect. Many perpetrators were on the scene when the incident occurred. Where are the others?" Tineke Rumkabu of Unite for Truth (BUK), a group of victims of human rights violations, told a live-streamed press briefing.
“We feel processes like this […] will not get [us] justice from the government.”
The group suspected that the government was using the trial to improve its reputation in the eyes of the international community and merely to mollify Papuans who have long sought justice without any real intention of achieving that justice.
Read also: AGO appoints 34 prosecutors in Paniai case
Yones Douw, a representative of one victim's family, raised the same concern, questioning why only one defendant stood accused.
Human rights defender Muhammad Haedir of the Makassar Legal Aid Institute (LBH) noted that human rights violations could not be committed only by one actor as among the elements of human rights violations were systematic, widespread and structured actions. “The trial is intended to fail. It seems it will not be able to prove who the real perpetrators were.”
The group lamented the AGO’s move to have the case tried in Makassar instead of Papua, as it was relatively inaccessible for local people and the families of victims who wished to keep tabs on the court proceedings.
