Jakarta – A kidnapped political activist plans to file a lawsuit against ex-president Suharto's son-in-law for his involvement in the abduction and torture of scores of activists, press reports said Sunday.
Activist Pius Lustrilanang, who was released by his captors earlier in the year, plans to sue ex-special forces chief Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto for ordering the kidnappings, the Suara Pembaruan evening daily reported.
Armed Forces Chief General Wiranto on Monday announced that Prabowo, once seen as a potential successor to Suharto, had been honorably discharged from the armed forces, citing the allegations of abduction and torture of activists earlier this year.
The decision, based on the findings of a high-level military officers' probe, also saw two other senior officers of the Kopassus elite force stripped of all posts though they were allowed to stay in the army.
Wiranto said the three could still be brought before a military tribunal should there be enough evidence from the court martials of seven Kopassus non-commissioned officers and three soldiers implicated in the same case.
Trimedya Panjaitan who holds power of attorney for Lustrilanang, said he and his client doubted the military's seriousness in prosecuting Prabowo, the Pembaruan reported. "We doubt the military's independence. Just look at the way they have managed to take the Trisakti University case back to the drawing board," Panjaitan was quoted as saying by Suara Pembaruan.
He was refering to the prosecution evidence, dismissed as a cover-up by the defence, in the trial of two police officers implicated in the shooting deaths of six students during a peaceful pro-reform rally in May. The military inquiry team has said Prabowo had admitted during the 15-day long inquiry earlier this month to misinterpreting orders from a superior.
But the council has shed no light on what the order was or who had issued it.
At least 24 activists had been missing since early this year and the nine who have resurfaced have told stories of forced abduction and torture as well as solitary detention. One was found dead.
Wiranto's move had a lukewarm reception among activists, who said the decision was too lenient and would do little to improve the military's image.