Farouk Arnaz – An Islamic organization said on Sunday it would file a complaint against the antiterror police at the National Commission on Human Rights this week over the police's fatal shooting of two men.
The two men, who were buried at the Pondok Rangon Cemetery in East Jakarta last week, had so far not been identified by police, even as anti-terror detectives claimed that they were suspected terrorists, said Munarman, who represents the Islamic People's Forum (FUI).
The two men were gunned down during an anti-terror police raid on May 13. Munarman said the FUI would file a report with the commission, known as Komnas Ham, on Tuesday.
"These are murders and they must be investigated. There is a strong indication that these shootings were conducted outside of the necessary legal procedures that need to be taken and they were conducted by the state," Munarman told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday.
"The state must be held responsible. The police did not even know who these people were. It is wrong for them to kill and then label the dead as suspected terrorists without identifying who they are."
Anti-terror police on May 13 conducted raids in Cawang, East Jakarta, and Cikampek, West Java. Five suspects were killed. Three of them were identified as terror suspects Maulana, Sapono and Yusuf. The two remaining have not yet been identified.
National Police Densus 88 chief Brig. Gen. Tito Karnavian could not be reached for comment on Sunday. Earlier however he had told the Jakarta Globe that police had made no mistake in gunning them down.
"We arrested [the two men] because they were [caught] together with Maulana in Cawang. We then took them to Bekasi to investigate them further. However, they tried to seize our officers' weapons. They got shot," Tito had said.
When asked if police had asked those who were shot to identify themselves, Tito had said: "Yes, we did ask them. They gave us fake names."
Deputy chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Haris Azhar, said on Sunday that police needed to clarify who the men really were.
"It would be good if police admitted that they are wrong, if they are indeed wrong," Haris said. There must be accountability for the deaths. There must be an evaluation of the antiterror law.
"Indonesians hate terrorists, because we are not radicals. At the same time, it is everybody's right to report to Komnas Ham, if [police] kill someone without cause," he said.
You cannot kill people only because you label them as suspected terrorists and not give them a chance to undergo a proper trial. Not only police in the field should be held accountable, but also the commander."
Kabul Supriyadi, a Komnas Ham member, said that once the report was filed, the commission would study it and discuss whether or not to set up a fact-finding team over the matter.
Iqbal Huseini, also known as Reza, a convicted former terrorist who was among those who arranged the funeral for the two dead men, said he had taken the initiative to arrange the funerals for humane reasons.
"I tied to contact my friends and network to identify who these men are. We failed to do so. We don't know who they are but it is the responsibility of all Muslims to give their brothers a proper burial," Iqbal said.