Camelia Pasandaran – A human rights watcher on Friday criticized police and media for their actions during last weekend's raid on a suspected terrorist hideout.

Ifdhal Kasim, chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights, or Komnas HAM, said that the raid in Temanggung, Central Java, which was screened for 18 hours by one television station, had deprived suspects of their human rights.

"In the euphoria of the anti-terrorism push, we should also respect the rights of the suspects as well as their families," Ifdhal said.

Last week, special police forces had been sent to capture a man who was believed to be fugitive Noordin M Top. However, police found out later that they did not target the right person and instead killed another terror suspect, Ibrahim, during the raid.

Ifdhal said that the action of the law enforcers during the raid was legal. However, he said that it was wrong to turn the raid into a violent television drama.

Ifdhal said that even though the commission supports police efforts to eradicate terrorism, it should be done in a respectful way to human rights.

"We want police to improve their professionalism," he said. "We also want them not to give access for the media to show 18 hours of violence against a 'powerless' terrorism suspect."

Ifdhal also warned that mass media should not preemptively label suspects as being guilty.

"We should uphold the presumption of innocence," he said. "The media should not publish misleading news while the police force itself is still collecting the evidence."

"Media should also be able to restrain itself from screening the violent actions of the state officers. Children also watch the shows, not only adults. The media should consider this before screening such shows."