Police were allegedly involved in dozens of extrajudicial killings resulting in the deaths of 31 people, indicating a lack of progress in police reforms, Amnesty International Indonesia said.
Amnesty recorded at least 116 cases of alleged police violence between January and November this year, including 29 cases of extrajudicial killings resulting in 31 fatalities.
One of the latest cases was in late November when a police officer allegedly shot and killed a student in Semarang, Central Java. An officer has been detained over the case.
The case garnered national attention after local police claimed an officer had taken the action to disperse a student brawl.
But Central Java police’s head of internal affairs Aris Supriyono told lawmakers in a hearing last week that the shooting was not connected with dispersing a brawl.Cases of police violence, which include torture, improper use of tear gas and arbitrary arrests, showed the lack of systemic progress in reforming the nation’s police force, said Amnesty Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid.
“With a series of police violence widely discussed by the public, it is clear that this year has not shown any improvement in the police’s system,” Usman said on Monday.The National Police did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
Amnesty also recorded other cases of police violence throughout the same period, including 28 cases of intimidation and physical violence as well as 26 cases of torture.
More than 500 people were subjected to police violence including arbitrary arrest, physical violence and improper use of tear gas between Aug 22 and 29 during protests against changes to election rules in 14 cities across the archipelago, Amnesty recorded.“This showed how policing has currently become authoritarian-repressive, not democratic-humanist as promised or mandated by law,” Usman said. — AFP
