Bambang Muryanto and Yuliasri Perdani, Yogyakarta/Jakarta – The Yogyakarta military prosecutors are keeping the public in the dark on the prison raid by commandos in which four detainees were killed.

Yogyakarta Provincial Information Commission (KID) chief Siti Roswati Handayani responded to complaints that journalists could not get any information on the case from the military prosecutors.

"The Public Information Law states that information on the case must be available," she told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The raid on the Sleman Penitentiary in Cebongan, Yogyakarta, by members of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) has been at the center of public attention.

Siti said that if any time the public asked for information, the respective public institution was obliged to provide it. As an institution that is funded with public money, the Yogyakarta military prosecutors are obliged to provide information that is not classified. Siti also questioned why the military prosecutors were being tightlipped.

The II-11 Yogyakarta Military Prosecutors Office chief, Lt. Col. Budi Harto has several times refused to give any information on the case involving 12 commandos from Kopassus' Group 2 in Kandang Menjangan, Sukoharjo, Central Java.

"I am busy with the dossiers," Budi said on Monday on his cell phone and hung up right away. He did not respond to text messages. The IV/Diponegoro Military Police submitted the case' dossiers to Budi's office on May 22.

The II-11 Yogyakarta Military Court chief, Lt. Col. Faridah Faisal, said she was in the dark on when the trial would start. "We have yet to receive the dossiers from the Yogyakarta Military Prosecutors."

Separately, Indonesia Court Monitoring (ICM) Yogyakarta director Tri Wahyu said that the military tribunal had a problem with transparency, which he blamed on Law No 31/1997 on military tribunals, a product of the New Order regime, marred with repressive, authoritarian and closed nuances.

"The ICM urged the military tribunal leaders to understand that today's era is the era of transparency and accountability," Tri said.

The March 23 raid killed Hendrik Angel Sahetapi, Yohanes Juan Manbait, Gameliel Yermianto Rohi Riwu and Andrianus Candra Galaja. The thugs were suspects in the murder of Chief Sgt. Heru Santosa who was stabbed to death four days earlier.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) also urged the Army to hold a transparent investigation into the killings.

"It is hard for rights activists and journalists to get information on the investigation. They have only made a little progress in the case, naming one additional suspect and presenting more firearms evidence," Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said at a press conference.

Haris added that the military should involve the families of the victims in the investigation as they might have "pivotal information".

Kontras also urged the military to widen their investigation. "One day before the murder, a text message circulated among local police. The text message read, 'Information from Yogyakarta Police deputy chief, three platoons of the Kopassus have entered Yogyakarta – Please be cautious'," Haris said.