Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – Human rights groups said on Monday that there were "strong indications" that security forces committed rights abuses during last week's deadly crackdown on a pro-independence rally in Abepura, Papua.

Ridha Saleh, deputy chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said it appeared likely that officers assaulted and fired at participants at the Papuan People's Congress, which took place last week.

A day after the incident, the bodies of six participants were found near the local military headquarters, reportedly with gunshot wounds.

"The participants did not put up any kind of resistance, yet they were taken down, beaten and shot at," Ridha said. "That this resulted in fatalities clearly makes this a serious rights violation."

Police arrested hundreds of congress participants and named five of them treason suspects. Ridha said he and a team from Komnas HAM were in Papua to investigate the crackdown as well as to visit with the detainees, some of whom were reportedly beaten by the police.

"We're going to visit the provincial police headquarters [in Jayapura] to check on the condition of the detainees and verify that their arrest was done according to procedure," he said.

The rights commissioners are scheduled to meet with Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Bigman Lumban Tobing and the head of the Cendrawasih military command, which oversees security affairs in the province, to discuss the case.

In Jakarta, military chief Adm. Agus Suhartono said the National Police were investigating the incident. He said if there were indications that soldiers had been involved in any deaths, they would face the due legal process.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), which is also in the province for its own investigation, said that in addition to the six congress participants found dead, there were several others who had been missing since the crackdown.

Haris Azhar, the Kontras coordinator, said up to three people had been reported missing by their families, although it was not yet clear whether they had gone into hiding or been made to disappear. "The police must be open to input from us and must allow those charged with treason to have legal representation," he said.

Haris said that his organization had questioned the police about their use of violence against civilians. "They said they would study the information that we gave them and crosscheck it with their own reports on the incident," he said.

Olga Hamadi, Kontras's Papua coordinator, said it was important for the police to allow the group access to the detainees to ensure they were not being ill-treated and had access to counsel. "But ever since they were arrested, we've only been able to meet with them once."

[Additional reporting from Ezra Sihite.]