International Day Against Torture 2024

The President and DPR RI Failed to Implement the Mandate of the Anti-Torture Convention, Negligent and Ignoring the Practice of Torture! 

 18 The LBH-YLBHI office assesses that the state, through the Joko Widodo government and the DPR RI, is not serious and has failed to carry out its commitment to stop the practice of torture in Indonesia after ratifying the anti-torture convention 25 years ago. The practice of torture in Indonesia continues to recur and occurs without any serious efforts to prevent or stop it.

The UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on June 26 marks the moment in 1987 when the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, one of the key instruments in the fight against torture, came into force. 

The Convention, which was ratified by Indonesia in Law Number 5 of 1998, regulates the prohibition of torture, both physical and mental, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment carried out by or at the instigation of or with the consent/knowledge of officials. the public and other persons acting in their position.

Conditions in the field, cases of torture continue to occur and recur. In 2022-23, YLBHI-LBH recorded 46 cases of torture with a total of 294 victims. Meanwhile, during 2020 - 2023, there were 24 victims of extrajudicial killings in detention handled by the LBH-LBH Office. These extrajudicial killings all occurred by means of torture, most of which were carried out by members of the police. However, we also highlight that torture in detention can also be carried out by fellow detainees (field actors) at the behest of police officers.

For example, the HS death case handled by LBH Medan in 2022. Police officers knowingly ordered other detainees to carry out sexual torture against the victim. The victim was initially asked to pay a "mutuality" fee of IDR 2 million to the police officer, but HS refused. The victim was rushed to Bhayangkara Hospital in Medan, but was not saved.

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Of the 24 cases, we also found that 2 of them were killed with the use of firearms. The two cases were handled by LBH Lampung and Surabaya. In Lampung, Alm. M was first tortured by the police before finally being shot. Meanwhile, in the case handled by LBH Surabaya, the victim who was suspected of having a mental disorder was shot up to 14 times by the police. 

By the 9th shot the victim was no longer moving, but the police continued to shoot him 14 times. Of the 24 cases where detainees died, only 5 were ultimately followed up by the police. Three cases floated, 1 reached court and 1 ended peacefully with compensation money.

Not yet finished with cases of torture carried out by state security forces, this month the public was again shown the bloodthirsty nature of police personnel in Padang. LBH Padang is advocating for five children and two adults who were tortured by West Sumatra Police officers. 

They received torture in the form of whipping, electric shocks, being hit with rattan, being rammed by motorbikes, and having cigarettes lit on the victim's body. LBH Padang also found that it was possible that the death of Alif Maulana (13) was caused by torture by the West Sumatra Police Sabhara officers.

In Papua, YLBHI-LBH recorded 14 cases of torture and 5 of them resulted in death (extrajudicial killing) throughout 2023. All of these cases were carried out by TNI-Police officers and were spread across Puncak Papua, Merauke, Boven Digoel, Intan Jaya, Lanny Jaya, Jayapura, South Sorong, and Yahukimo. Many cases of torture carried out by the TNI were intended to evict civilians and for TNI soldiers to occupy their homes. 

In 2024, 3 civilians in Ilaga were tortured and 1 died. The TNI stated that the arrest that resulted in death was a 'success'. We see that the state's failure to eliminate the practice of torture is caused by several factors. First, the institutionalized culture of violence in the TNI-Polri institutions. 

Second, the Indonesian Government has not yet ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). It is important to ratify this optional protocol to pave the way for independent national and international institutions to establish a system of regular visits to places where people are deprived of their rights of liberty, to prevent torture and other ill-treatment. 

Third, the state actually appears to be actively sponsoring torture against civilians by not immediately revising the Criminal Procedure Code, not revising the Military Justice Law on the one hand. On the other hand, it actually increases the police's excessive authority through the National Police Bill and revises the TNI Law to provide more space for the military to carry out operations other than war.

Torture is a crime against humanity and a serious human rights violation. The state should not continue to perpetuate such practices. Reflecting on the situation above, YLBHI-LBH urges the state to: The Government and DPR RI must immediately ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; 

The government and DPR RI must immediately revise the Criminal Procedure Code and the Military Courts Law. specifically related to control and testing mechanisms over the authority of law enforcement officials, impartial and fair military justice reform, as well as redress for victims of acts of torture; 

The government and DPR RI must immediately stop discussing the National Police Bill and the TNI Bill which threaten democracy and human rights and have the potential to open up space for torture practices. Komnas HAM immediately conducted a pro justitia investigation into various cases of torture as a crime against humanity that have become institutionalized and continue to occur in the judicial process, especially in police, TNI and other institutions. The government and DPR RI must immediately carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the Indonesian Police and TNI as the dominant perpetrators of torture;

Jakarta, 26 June 2024,

LBH-YLBHI (LBH Papua, LBH Banda Aceh, LBH Pekanbaru, LBH Medan, LBH Palembang, LBH Padang, LBH Lampung, LBH Jakarta, LBH Bandung, LBH Semarang, LBH Yogyakarta, LBH Surabaya, LBH Bali, LBH Samarinda, LBH Palangkaraya, LBH West Kalimantan, LBH Manado, LBH Makassar)

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