Ethan Harfenist – The national human rights body has called on judges in the court martial of 12 soldiers charged with the summary execution of four men in police custody to ensure transparency in the proceedings.
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said on Wednesday that the tribunal that begins today must be open in order to establish the truth, bring a sense of justice and uphold the supremacy of the law.
"We are recommending the panel of judges at the Yogyakarta military tribunal hold a transparent trial," Komnas HAM chairwoman Siti Noor Laila said at a press conference in Jakarta to announce the commission's findings on the March 23 attack on the Cebongan jail in Yogyakarta's Sleman district.
Siti also asked the tribunal to clarify the type and number of weapons used as well as the number of people involved in the attack, due to the different findings by Komnas HAM and military investigators.
Aside from demanding a transparent legal process, the human rights watchdog also recommended the authorities question the Yogyakarta Police chief and the local military commander at the time about what really transpired.
Siti added that the incident involved at least 14 soldiers storming the jail and gunning down four detainees, and not 11 soldiers as determined by the military.
Komnas HAM said the attack was well planned and conducted out of revenge following the murder of First Sgt. Heru Santoso, allegedly at the hands of those subsequently killed in the jail raid. "The attack at the Cebongan prison was well planned. This can be seen from the equipment [they] brought," Siti said.
She said the perpetrators, from the Army Special Forces (Kopassus), had been assigned with different tasks, including acting as lookouts, keeping track of the time, destroying surveillance footage, damaging the jail's armory and holding the wardens at gunpoint while the others shot the detainees.
Komnas HAM also found that the Yogyakarta Police had committed an act of negligence by moving the detainees to Cebongan from the far more secure provincial police headquarters.
"Our team of investigators found that there was negligence in the security arrangements believed to be committed by the Yogyakarta Police," Siti said. "The police also failed to convey information transparently about the four suspects who were allegedly involved in the murder of First Sgt Heru Santoso."
The human rights commission also faulted the local Kopassus chief for failing to control his men.
Eleven Kopassus members were arrested on April 2 for breaking into Cebongan and murdering four detainees awaiting trial: Hendrik Angel Sahetapi, Yohanes Juan Manbait, Gameliel Yermianto Rohi Riwu and Adrianus Candra Galaja.
Military investigators have said that the motive for the murders was revenge for the killing three days earlier of their Kopassus colleague, for which the four detainees had been charged.
Human rights groups, arguing that military tribunals in Indonesia lacked accountability, transparency and neutrality, have called for the soldiers to be brought to a civilian court.
Under Indonesian law, soldiers cannot be tried in civilian courts, regardless of the nature of their offense, although there have been a few exceptions when officers were brought in front of an ad hoc human rights court over human rights violations.
The military has vowed full transparency in the court martial of the 11 alleged perpetrators and a 12th individual who was later found to have aided in plotting the attack. The court martial begins today, and unlike most such procedures, will be open to the media.