Indonesia and Justice

Video: The Murder of Munir

1. In Indonesia, "Another timber company director pursued in a police crackdown on illegal logging in Riau province was acquitted of all charges by judges in the Pelalawan District Court last week." - Blatant snub of justice: Indonesia timber exec acquitted .

2. In Indonesia, "an independent team set up to investigate the riots (May 1998) found that 85 mostly ethnic Chinese women were sexually assaulted, but authorities dropped the inquiry, citing a lack of evidence.Ten years later the victims remain silent because they fear for their safety and have no faith in the country's justice system, according to a new report issued by the National Commission on Violence Against Women." - Victims of 1998 Indonesia riots still silent-report Reuters

3. The U.N. Committee Against Torture says it is "deeply concerned about numerous ongoing credible and consistent allegations" of abuse in the Indonesian justice system. The committee says no state official accused of perpetrating torture has been found guilty, this despite efforts to combat rights abuses. - U.N. body says torture widespread in Indonesia

4. Indonesia is still run by the military. "Former militia leader Eurico Guterres — the only Indonesian jailed for the destruction of East Timor that claimed about 1500 lives in 1999 — has been acquitted by a Jakarta court. The decision means all the men, most of them Indonesian military officers, charged by Indonesian prosecutors over the violence during the 1999 independence referendum have now been acquitted." - Jakarta judges clear ex-militia leader over Timor carnage

5. All Indonesian airlines including national carrier Garuda are banned from the European Union, on grounds of safety. - BBC NEWS Europe EU bans all Indonesian airlines

6. "There is evidence that 'the military encourage the radical religious violence largely responsible for creating Indonesia's terrorism problem'. The Indonesian military 'has a history of using terrorism for political purposes'..." - aangirfan: Terror and the military in Indonesia; Munir

7. "Indonesian human rights campaigner Munir was murdered... Muchdi is a former chief of the Army’s elite Special Forces (Kopassus). He was dismissed from the position in 1998 after Munir exposed his role in the kidnapping and torture of numerous pro-democracy activists." - aangirfan: Terror and the military in Indonesia; Munir

8. The Bali Bomb, Mossad, the CIA and the Indonesian military.

9. Indonesia Loses a Human Rights Voice

On 16 may 2008, Todung Mulya Lubis, Indonesia’s most prominent human-rights voice, was disbarred from practicing law by the Jakarta Regional Honor Board after another prominent lawyer, Hotman Paris Hutapea, filed a complaint against him for an ethics violation.

In a telephone interview with Asia Sentinel, Mulya Lubis called the decision “totally baseless and unlawful” and said he has little hope of winning an appeal.

“For me this is a conspiracy of corrupt lawyers who feel troubled and disturbed by my stand to play by the rules and consistently fight against corruption,” he said. “The accuser, Hotman Paris Hutapea, is known as the most corrupt lawyer in Indonesia, while I am regarded as symbol of an incorruptible lawyer. The judgment is outrageous and has killed my life, violated my right to practice law, and defied common sense and justice. I will appeal, but I am losing hope in the integrity of the Bar Association. The legal profession is rotten.”

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