Indonesian teen’s death spotlights police brutality, ‘bleak’ future for human rights
Amnesty report shows at least 116 cases of police brutality so far this year, as activists warn of ‘black hole of human rights violations’
Fresh accusations of excessive force being used by police in Indonesia, including the alleged extrajudicial killing of a teenager, have led activists to warn of a “bleak” future for human rights and unfulfilled promises of reform under President Prabowo Subianto.
A report released on Monday by Amnesty International Indonesia found evidence of at least 116 cases of police brutality from January to November this year, including 29 extrajudicial killings.
The group also closely examined police misconduct during nationwide protests over changes to the election law in August and said at least 579 civilians were subjected to arbitrary arrests, physical violence, and improper use of tear gas, among others.
“Repeated police violence becomes a black hole of human rights violations. The use of unnecessary, disproportionate and repeated force without accountability is a result of an [internal] policy to repress every protest against the government,” Usman Hamid, executive director at Amnesty International Indonesia, told reporters.
“It is clear that this year does not show any improvement in the police system, but rather shows the increasing urgency of police violence, because all cases of police brutality are justified. The promise of the chief of police that his leadership era will use a humanist approach has proven to fail.”
Calls to end police brutality in Indonesia were also echoed by Jakarta-based rights group Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), which last week reported that it had evidence of 62 acts of torture by law enforcement between January and November of this year, with a total of 128 victims.
