November 17, 2015 edition

Demand that the government accept responsibility for the 1965 atrocities is being revived. "They burned my body with cigarettes," Tintin Rahayu told the courtroom at Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague, the Netherlands, before pausing to compose herself. "In the interrogation room, I was beaten, and at camp in the military headquarters in Cebongan, (Sleman, Yogyakarta), I was trampled on." As Tintin began to sob, the courtroom fell silent.
Tintin was one of many witnesses to testify at the International Peoples' Tribunal 1965 in the Netherlands last week. Organizers said the event aimed to expose the gross human rights violations that occurred following the events of September 30, 1965, as well as highlight the implications for victims of violence.

Read More

More Law articles in other editions

November 10, 2015 edition

THE seven-page circular was supposed to be an affirmation of the procedure for handling hate speech cases already regulated under existing laws. But the reaction to the document signed by National Police Chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti on October 8 has since been telling a different story.
Until last week, a number of academics, rights activists as well as freedom of expression advocates continued to question Circular No. SE/6/X/2015. "I didn't expect there could be such a response," said Badrodin on Thursday last week.

Read More

November 3, 2015 edition

One clause sticks out among the hundreds of others in the draft presidential regulation on the organizational structure of the Indonesian National Military (TNI). Only after scrutinizing the draft did a defense commission member of the House of Representatives (DPR), Tubagus Hasanuddin, see it. "There seems to be a new twist in the law," Hasanuddin said on Thursday last week.
The clause is at the end of Article 7 of the draft regulation. Comprising three paragraphs, the article contains sentences and punctuation marks that essentially duplicate Article 7 of Law No. 34/2004 on the TNI. "It's an opening for the military to go beyond its principal duties without supervision," Hasanuddin added.

Read More

October 27, 2015 edition

Renaldi Bandaso did not talk long with the four men he was there to meet at Baji Pamai restaurant in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, last week. Arriving empty-handed, Renadli, a personal assistant to House of Representatives (DPR) member Dewie Yasin Limpo, left the restaurant carrying a white plastic bag.
As Renaldi exited, he was met by several Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officers. Neither he nor the four men had time to make an escape.

Read More

October 20, 2015 edition

Five student activists arrived at the Jakarta Police's Service Centerlate in the evening Tuesday last week. They were there to report a suspected abuse of power in the Constitutional Court's recent decision on the selection of judges for first-instance courts. "We observed impropriety in the decision-making session," said Secretary-General of the Jakarta Law Students Movement (GMHJ), Lintar Fauzi, on Wednesday last week.
Farhan Ali, Victor Santoso Tandiasa, and Alfian Akbar Balianan joined Linhar as reporting parties. They questioned the court's ruling handed down a fortnight ago which granted a request by the Indonesian Judges Association (Ikahi) to examine the first-instance court judges.

Read More

October 13, 2015 edition

Hadi Poernomo wasted little time cross-examining Jamin Gintinga professor of law at Pelita Harapan University and the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) expert witnessin a judicial review hearing at the South Jakarta District Court last week.
A former director-general of taxation, Hadi's line of questioning sought to cast aspersions on the KPK's power to appoint the investigators to his case. "Yes, the investigator is appointed and then discharged by the KPK," Jamin Ginting told him in court.

Read More

October 6, 2015 edition

Udar Pristono was unable to restrain himself after a panel of judges at the Jakarta Corruption Court handed down a much lighter sentence than what had been sought by prosecutors. As soon as the judges finished reading the verdict, the former head of Jakarta's Department of Transportation got out of his wheelchair and walked over to shake each by the hand.
That Wednesday two weeks ago, a panel of judges, headed by Artha Theresia, sentenced Udar to five years' imprisonment and a fine of Rp250 million. The verdict in the Transjakarta buses procurement case was less than a third of the 19 years in prison and Rp1 billion in fines sought by prosecutors.

Read More

Independent journalism needs public support. By subscribing to Tempo, you will contribute to our ongoing efforts to produce accurate, in-depth and reliable information. We believe that you and everyone else can make all the right decisions if you receive correct and complete information. For this reason, since its establishment on March 6, 1971, Tempo has been and will always be committed to hard-hitting investigative journalism. For the public and the Republic.