Jakarta – Beatings and other forms of torture are entrenched in much of Indonesia's prison system, where a culture of impunity reigns, a UN envoy said Friday.
UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak said vast improvements were needed to the prison system despite Indonesia's transition to democracy since dictator Suharto stepped down in 1998.
"Although Indonesia has come a long way in overcoming the legacy of the Suharto era in establishing a functioning democracy and the rule of law and the protection of human rights, in my specific area – torture and ill treatment – still much needs to be done," Nowak said.
Nowak said there was no evidence of systematic torture across Indonesia's prison and police detention systems.
However the absence of a specific law against torture and poor institutional oversight meant Indonesian prisoners were "extremely vulnerable" to torture, he said in his final report from his 16-day visit.
The UN representative was given open access to 24 Indonesian detention facilities across the sprawling archipelagic nation during his stay.
Torture was often used to extract confessions at Indonesia's police detention facilities, Nowak said, noting that prisoners often stayed more than 20 days in police detention before being charged.
The dominant method of torture was beating, with a smaller number of cases of prisoners being electrocuted and shot through the leg, Nowak said.
"In all the meetings with government officials, no one could cite one case in which a police officer was ever found guilty and sentenced by a criminal court for ill treatment or other abuse of a detainee," Nowak said. Evidence also existed of beatings against child prisoners, Nowak said.
Despite the grim picture, the UN representative said he found that torture was rare or nonexistent in some facilities, including the maximum security Nusa Kembangan island prison, which is home to the condemned Bali bombers.
He also said he heard few complaints of torture in Indonesia's restive Papua region, where activists agitating against Indonesian rule have been jailed.
The lack of mechanisms to prevent torture meant the attitude of the leadership of detention facilities determined the frequencies of abuse.
"The recommendations are clear: to fight impunity by making torture a crime; and by establishing effective independent complaints mechanisms so that perpetrators of torture can be brought to justice," Nowak said.
Indonesia is widely considered to have made significant democratic progress since the end of Suharto's oppressive 32-year rule.
However, the country's military, police and justice system have come under criticism for continued corruption and disregard for basic human rights.