2) Bloody Paniai case likely to stall as AGO returns case dossier, yet again
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1) Prosecutors seek up to 17 years for Papuan protesters accused of treason
Tri Indah Oktavianti The Jakarta Post
Jakarta / Sun, June 7, 2020 / 07:12 pm
Prosecutors at the Balikpapan district court in East Kalimantan are seeking between five and 17 years of prison for seven Papuans charged with treason for their involvement in antiracism protests Jayapura, Papua, in August 2019.
The protests came in response to an incident where Papuan university students living in a dormitory in Surabaya, East Java, were attacked verbally and physically by security personnel and members of mass organizations who accused the students of refusing to celebrate Indonesia’s 74th Independence Day.
Security personnel reportedly banged on the dormitory’s door while shouting words such as “monkeys”, “pigs” and “dogs”
While the protests in Jayapura started out peacefully, they later turned violent, resulting in dozens of injuries and several buildings being damaged.
The seven defendants in the trial in Balikpapan include Buchtar Tabuni, an executive of pro-Papuan independence group United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), Agus Kossay and Stevanus Itlay from the National Committee of West Papua (KNPB), Jayapura University of Science and Technology (USTJ) student union head Alexander Gobai, Cenderawasih University student union head Ferry Gombo and USTJ students Irwanus Uropmabin and Hengki Hilapok. They were arrested in Jayapura in September and were later moved to a Balikpapan jail for security reasons.
Last week, prosecutors demanded a 17-year sentence for Buchtar, 15 years for Agus and Stevanus, 10 years for Alexander and Ferry and five years for Irwanus and Hengki.
The defendants’ legal team and human rights groups have criticized the proceedings and have said that the seven Papuans are being persecuted for their political activism.
Emanuel Gobay, one of the defendants’ lawyers, said there were many obstacles during the online court hearing for the seven Papuan activists.
“[The trial] had many issues, including internet instability, bad voice reception, different preparation times between the prosecutors and the defendants, the prosecution’s expert witnesses testifying out of line with their expertise and other issues that we fear will violate the rights of the defendants,” Emanuel said in a written statement obtained by The Jakarta Post.
He also criticized the inconsistency between the sentences sought for the seven defendants and those sought for defendants in other regions facing similar charges.
In April, for example, prosecutors sought 17-month sentences for pro-Papuan independence activists who staged a rally in Jakarta. The six activists were found guilty and received sentences ranging from eight to nine months.
Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) lawyer Tigor Hutapea, who oversees cases of human rights violations in Papua, said that the harsher sentences sought for the seven activists were a result of their involvement in Papuan political movements.
“The three of them were assigned greater [targeted] punishments not only because they were involved in the protest but also because they are involved in Papuan political organizations, when in fact, the right to join organizations is guaranteed by our constitution,” he told the Post on Sunday.
Tigor, who has been following the trial, questioned the entire trial process as “witnesses mostly came from police personnel [...] who did not directly witness the involvement of the seven activists in the riots.”
In an online discussion organized by the University of Indonesia student association about racism against Papuans in the legal system on Saturday, Amnesty International Australia and Indonesian human rights lawyer Veronica Koman urged university students to stand in solidarity with the seven Papuan activists.
“If not, they will come for you,” she said. “Next time if you hold a student demonstration, they might say that you’re committing treason."
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2) Bloody Paniai case likely to stall as AGO returns case dossier, yet again
CNN Indonesia – June 5, 2020
Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has picked up indications that the Bloody Paniai human rights case in Papua will stall like other human rights cases. The indications of this emerged after the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) again returned the investigation dossier and documents on the case to Komnas HAM.
“Komnas HAM completed the investigation and the investigation results were submitted to the Attorney General. The back and forth of the dossier has the potential for the case to stall, heading towards impunity”, said Komnas HAM investigator for the Paniai case, Munafrizal Manan during a press conference on Thursday June 4.
Rizal, as he is known, said that the AGO has twice returned the Paniai case dossier to Komnas HAM.
According to Rizal, the return of the dossier this time round was the fastest yet. He said that the case dossier was returned exactly 37 days after Komnas HAM sent it to the AGO on April 14.
“The return of the investigation dossier this second time was accompanied by arguments that were similar to when it was returned the first time. This represents a relatively quick return”, he said.
The AGO first returned the Paniai case dossier to Komnas HAM on March 20. The dossier was returned on the grounds that lacked evidence.
After making corrections, Komnas HAM then sent the dossier back to the AGO on April 14. Not long after this, on April 20, the dossier was sent back to Komnas HAM.
Komnas HAM Commissioner Ahmad Taufan Damanik believes that the return of the dossier indicates that the Paniai case will not be resolved.
He is therefore asking President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to follow five steps to resolve the human rights (HAM) violations in Paniai.
“This represents an opportunity for the president to live up to his promise for justice, there are five things which done by the president”, said Damanik during a video conference.
First, the president must ensure that the investigation goes ahead and is done independently and professionally in accordance with the principles of human rights.
Second, the president must order whoever is linked to the Paniai case to be cooperative and assert that obstruction of justice in the Paniai case will be acted on in accordance with prevailing laws.
Then, Komnas HAM is also asking the president to form an independent team of investigators and prosecutors if the criminal investigation by the AGO fails to produce a result.
“In accordance with the stipulations of Law Number 26/2000 on a Human Rights Court which is filled with credible figures, the president can order the formation of a special team of investigators”, said Damanik.
“The president could also augment Komnas HAM’s powers so it can conduct criminal investigations and prosecutors in cases of HAM violations”, he said.
According to Damanik, it would not be difficult to resolve the Paniai case because it occurred quite recently and there are no difficulties in gathering evidence. All that it needs is political will on the part of the president so the Paniai case can be resolved.
“Komnas HAM’s scope in accordance with regulations is discovering if there has been a gross HAM violation or not, then after proving it, we give the evidence along with the documents to the Attorney General. The follow up process simple and easy”, explained Damanik. (mln/wis)
Notes
On December 8, 2014, barely two months after Widodo was sworn in as president, five high-school students were killed and 17 others seriously injured when police and military opened fire on a group of protesters and local residents in the town of Enarotali, Paniai regency. Shortly after the incident Widodo personally pledged to resolve the case but six years into his presidency no one has been held accountable for the shootings.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Bolak-balik Berkas, Kasus Paniai Berdarah Berpotensi Mandek”.]
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