Kusumasari Ayuningtyas and Apriadi Gunawan, Klaten, Central Java/Medan – Relatives of an alleged terrorist who died in police custody said on Sunday that they would file a report to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on possible misconduct that led to the death.
"We demand that those who arrested Siyono take responsibility. We will report it to the commission," said the relatives' lawyer, Sri Kalono.
Siyono was apprehended by the National Police's Densus 88 antiterror squad at his house in Pogung village, Klaten, Central Java, on Wednesday for his alleged involvement in the Jamaah Islamiyah terror group.
The family's spokesman Hendro Sudarsono said the family would take legal action, and urged the police to explain the cause of the death. "Siyono was healthy when he was arrested. What was the cause of death?" Hendro asked. If it emerged that Siyono was shot dead, he added, the police should also explain their decision to shoot the suspect.
On Friday, media reported that police had shot Siyono as he attempted to attack officers escorting him to Yogyakarta, where he was to lead officers to his accomplices. Siyono was rushed to the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in the city, but died on the way.
The body was transferred to the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Jakarta, and the family was informed of the death. Siyono was buried in his home village early on Sunday.
On Dec. 30 last year, Densus 88 arrested an alleged terrorist in Surakarta, which neighbors Klaten. The arrest was part of a series of raids carried out by the antiterror detachment over the past few weeks in areas including Bekasi, Cilacap, Gresik, Mojokerto, Sukoharjo and Tasikmalaya.
The 10 arrested over the course of the raids are suspected of being among more than 1,000 Indonesian supporters of the Islamic State (IS) group.
Police have since the beginning of the year arrested 18 terror suspects, including six accused of involvement in a Jan. 14 attack in Central Jakarta that left eight people dead, four victims and four attackers. The perpetrators were believed to have been linked to IS.
In a related development, the police announced on Sunday that they had arrested four suspected IS supporters in Padang Sidempuan, North Sumatra. Padang Sidempuan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Helmi Lubis said the suspects, identified only as IF, HS, H and S, had been apprehended at different locations on Friday.
Having questioned the suspects, Helmi said the police were now hunting the leader of IS in North Sumatra, identified as Abu Sumatra.
The four suspects claimed they had communicated with Abu Sumatra through a middleman, identified only as R, a student in Medan. "Earlier today, we summoned R. We want to know who Abu Sumatra is and where he is from," Helmi said.
He explained that the four had been arrested after police apprehended a suspect, identified as Rizal Faizal, for alleged sexual abuse of children. "When we were going through Rizal's text messages, we found conversations about IS with the four suspects and Abu Sumatra," he explained.
Separately, North Sumatra Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Helfi Assegaf admitted that IS was winning ever more supporters across the province. He insisted, however, that the militant group posed no serious threat.
Last week, residents found a suitcase containing a homemade bomb, a gun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in Binjai, North Sumatra; police denied the weapons belonged to IS supporters.