Farouk Arnaz & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Abuse of power continues to be a problem during police raids, the National Commission on Human Rights said on Wednesday.

Ifdhal Kasim, chairman of the commission, also known as Komnas HAM, said it often received complaints from the public about wrongful arrests, excessive force during operations and the torture of suspects.

"In terror raids, for instance, police will pay scant attention to human rights when dealing with terror suspects and the suspects' family members," he said.

"We've found clear signs that police officers favor a culture of violence. They prefer to settle a case by taking matters into their own hands via the use of force."

Ifdhal cited a recent incident in which a University of Indonesia history lecturer was assaulted by police simply because they mistook him for a drug dealer.

It was no secret that during police interrogations, suspects often faced both physical and excessive verbal abuse, he said, adding that despite numerous complaints of torture at the hands of police officers to Komnas HAM, such incidents still occurred regularly across the country.

Ifdhal said that police had to follow the rule of law like any ordinary citizen, even during the course of protecting others.

"I believe that all these problems, particularly in relation to police torture, happen because the government does not have a proper system that completely supports the prevention of these incidents," he added.

Corruption and collusion, Ifdhal said, also continued to heavily influence police investigations, affecting whether cases were properly pursued or not. He contrasted the recent prosecution of a grandmother in Central Java for stealing fruit to cases of corrupt bankers that often never even reached the courts.