Rizky Amelia – The number of torture cases involving state officials continues to rise and has left 10 people dead in four months, according to a study by the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy.

Wahyudi Djafar, coordinator for policy observation at the institute known as Elsam, said 22 torture cases involving 30 people had been recorded between January and April this year. They were committed during the process of arrest, interrogation and detention.

"In the period of four months, Elsam recorded at least 22 torture cases; battery, violent and inhumane actions that occurred in prisons," Wahyudi said in a news conference on Sunday.

He said four cases occurred in January, but the number increased to six the following month. There were five and seven cases respectively in March and April.

Wahyudi blamed weak supervision and a lack of sanctions for the increasing number of torture cases. He cited several examples of prisoners who died of torture in Indonesian jails.

He said that Erik Alamsyah, 21, died in a North Sumatra prison. In Semarang, Suryo was found dead on Feb. 3 after being detained a day earlier by the Central Java Police. The high number of cases, Wahyudi said, showed the authorities had not changed their approach to interrogation, which has been strongly criticized.

"Interrogations are often conducted in an inhumane way to get confessions," Wahyudi said.

Torture has occurred across the country, including in Jakarta, East Java, Central Java, West Java, Lampung, Papua and North Sumatra.

Most torture cases involve police officers who use inhumane methods to glean information or get evidence from prisoners. Out of the 22 torture cases, 12 were committed by police officers.