Subject: Investigate ill-treatment of Papuan prisoner
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC STATEMENT
AI Index No: ASA 22/019/2008
25 September 2008
Indonesia: Investigate ill-treatment of Papuan
prisoner
The Indonesian authorities must take immediate action to
investigate the torture of Papuan prisoner Ferdinand Pakage, who is
detained at Abepura Prison, Papua.
Prison officers beat Ferdinand Pakage on 22 September
causing serious injuries to his hands and legs. According to media
reports, his left eye was also bleeding profusely when he was removed
from solitary confinement and taken to the hospital for medical
attention. The beatings were witnessed by other prisoners.
Amnesty International welcomes the visits by staff from the National
Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) to Ferdinand Pakage in hospital and
to Abepura Prison where the incident took place.
The organization calls for those responsible for the torture to be held
accountable for their actions.
This incident clearly illustrates the failure to reform
the Criminal Code, which does not provide sufficient legal deterrent to
prevent state agents from committing acts of torture, which has directly
contributed to the widespread use of torture during arrest,
interrogation and detention.
As a signatory to the United Nations Convention against
Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
the Indonesian authorities must take effective measures to prevent acts
of torture and ensure prompt and impartial investigations, where there
are reasonable grounds that an act of torture has been committed.
Background
Ferdinand Pakage was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment after an
unfair trial for his alleged involvement in the violence in Abepura on
15 and 16 of March 2006. He and others were subject to torture and other
ill-treatment during interrogation in order to force them to confess
before the court that they were guilty of the crimes of which they were
accused.
Papua, Indonesia’s eastern-most province, has witnessed a
deteriorating human rights situation over the past few years. The
indigenous population, ethnically distinct from other parts of
Indonesia, has increasingly questioned the Indonesian government’s
policies regarding Papua’s natural resources and the migration of
non-Papuans into the area. The Indonesian government maintains a heavy
police and military presence, whose members are accused of repeatedly
intimidating and threatening members of the local indigenous community
who support greater autonomy or independence from Indonesia through
peaceful means.
END/
Public Document
****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International's
press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1
Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org
Back to September Menu
August
World Leaders Contact List
Main Postings Menu
