Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A human rights group has reported that inmates at Tanjung Gusta penitentiary in Medan were being brutalized by prison guards.

Herdensi, Sumatra head of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, said Thursday inmates were subjected to various forms of mistreatment such as beatings with hard objects.

Herdensi said data from the last two months showed around 26 inmates were abused. Twenty-two of them are presently in solitary confinement. Escape attempts, common at the overcrowded prison, were among other factors behind the abuse, he said.

He said under Indonesian and international law no one should be subject to cruel or inhumane treatment. "As human beings, inmates are protected by law. Even though they try to escape, it doesn't mean they should be cruelly treated," Herdensi said, referring to Zainal and Johan, inmates who were beaten by prison guards after a Nov. 28 escape attempt.

Prison Warden J. Gultom confirmed the beatings which he said were part of interrogation.

"We use that method to obtain information and reform convicts. It would be excessive (to beat inmates) for no reason. I wouldn't dare harm inmates for no reason, let alone fatally," Gultom told The Jakarta Post.

According to Gultom, prison authorities at one point uncovered an firearms smuggling attempt. The arms, never delivered, were part of a planned breakout, he said. "We received the information from an inmate named Johan."

The warden said the inmates – the majority serving time for drug crimes – hadn't managed to get any guns because they were expensive, at least Rp 3.2 million (approximately US$355.00) each. He said there an order was placed for 40 bullets, however.

Gultom said, "The current number of inmates in the prison is 2,652, which is over capacity. Ideally the number would be 800."