Jakarta, LiputanIslam.com— The Commission for Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras) recorded 62 cases of torture and inhumane acts that occurred in Indonesia within a year.
The record is the result of media monitoring, case advocacy, and Kontras network reports in various regions conducted in June 2019 to May 2020.
Rivanlee Anandar, a Kontras researcher, said of the 62 cases, 220 victims were recorded with details of 199 injured and 21 killed.
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He stated the practice of torture was dominated by police officers over 48 cases. Then, 9 cases were done by TNI, and 5 cases were done by warders in prison.
“The majority of the torture victims were from prison over 48 cases, and 14 cases were from civil,” He said on Thursday, June 26.
Of the 48 cases committed by police officers, the majority was occurred in Polres (departmental police) by 28 cases, in Polsek (sectoral police) by 11 cases, and in Polda (regional police) by 8 cases.
He explained that the practice of torture was often used as a method of investigation. The police officers use this method as a shortcut to get a confession from the suspect or the alleged victim. This practice was also often carried out to show their power, which led to their arrogance against the community.
In this regard, there were 40 cases of torture carried out by the authorities to obtain a confession from the suspect and 20 cases that were conducted merely to execute the punishment.
In addition, Kontras noted that the practice of torture often occurred due to wrongful arrest. There were 46 cases because of wrongful arrest and 16 cases because of purely criminal cases.
“The case of this wrongful arrest further confirms that the practice of torture is closely related to the articulation of the power relations between law enforcers and the alleged victims / the alleged perpetrators,” he said.
The practice of torture was mostly carried out with “bare hands” such as beating which were 49 cases. Then, there were 13 cases with firearms, 12 cases with hard objects, 4 cases with electricity, and 2 cases with sharp weapons.
“This method causes injuries such as bruising, blisters, and damage to the bones and internal organs. This method of torture also causes psychological pressure,” he stated. (sh/cnnindonesia/kompas)