Two wrongly imprisoned teachers on false charges of sex of child abuse have been released, but five cleaners convicted in the same case are always languish in prison. Indonesians have long been defrauded of justice through a judicial system that claims to be impartial sides but often with the rich and powerful.
"Ini Negara hukum" ( "This is a nation founded on the law!") Was a favorite slogan of the Indonesian officials during the reign of former dictator Suharto. The term has been debited to justify acts of judicial repression, such as banning critical media and imprisonment of pro-democracy activists. The replica of mind to "ini negara hukum" was "there, rimba hukum" ( "yes, the law of the jungle").
These days, "negara hukum ini" is always pronounced by officials and lawyers of dubious reputation. Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno, which was emptied two weeks ago as chief minister of security, used the term after criticizing the supporters of Corruption Eradication Commission respected (KPK) as "absurd." It was assessed to support the retaliatory attacks of the national police against the KPK leaders, who were forced to resign and face legal action after the appointment of a police officer, a suspect of corruption.
Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) general secretary Erlinda pronounced "negara hukum ini" last year when demanding that Jakarta International School (JIS) be punished for "serious violations".
The legal woes of JIS - which was renamed intercultural school Jakarta in late 2014 in line with a decree forbidding the Ministry of Education schools be called International - stemmed from March 2014. C ' when the mother is a kindergarten student complained that six cleaners at the school had twice sexually assaulted her son in a bathroom in January and February - or in February and March -. according to the police report you read
Upon hearing the news, most people assumed that it was real. Revelations that an American who taught JIS 1992 to 2002, William James Vahey, was a notorious pedophile - only promoted public perception that JIS was tarnished by pedophiles
.The six cleaners were arrested Azwar men Virgiawan Amin Zainal Abidin, Syahrial and Agun Iskandar and female Afrischa Setyani. Police said Azwar suicide April 26 Porstex drinking - a smelly liquid floor cleaning containing hydrochloric acid - in a police bathroom after suffering nearly seven hours of questioning. He was buried quickly without an autopsy. The other male cleaners later said that Azwar had been beaten by police. Lawyers male cleaners said police had also beaten their clients, made weapons to their heads and tortured until they confessed.
In December 2014, the surviving male cleaners were sentenced to eight years in prison, while Afrischa - who never confessed -. Was sentenced to seven years
It was clear that the police and the District Court of South Jakarta notoriously corrupt were willing to do harm to JIS. There have been occasional reports of teachers in Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) violating the students, but do not go to prison. Jakarta rumor mills that have a powerful magnate with strong connections police wanted to close JIS to support its valuable real estate in the south of Jakarta.
The Education and Culture Ministry in April 2014 JIS ordered to close its kindergarten to operate without a proper license. Meanwhile, the mother of the allegations center demanded the whole school is closed permanently. She first tried to pursue JIS to $ 12.5 million, but when she realized the school was not legally responsible for outsourced cleaners, she changed strategy. She said that the Canadian teacher and teacher Neil Bantleman Ferdinant Tjiong assistant had also abused his son. She also convinced two other relatives to lodge complaints against teachers, and has increased its request for compensation to $ 125 million.
Subsequent trials were a sham and off-limits to the public and media. The judges, led by Nuraslam Bustaman, overlooked the lack of physical evidence and in April 2015 sentenced the teacher to 10 years in prison for abusing three boys.
One of the lawyers representing the mother was O.C. Kaligis, who was arrested last month for allegedly bribing three judges in Medan Administrative Court of the State in northern Sumatra. When JIS tried to reopen the kindergarten and against legal fees last year Kaligis said: "This is a nation based on law, it can not be playing around" Yeah, right
..the verdicts against the teachers have been widely criticized, including by the Ambassador of the United States, the British Embassy and the Canadian government. the family Bantleman filed a defamation suit in Singapore against the mother as she had made the initial allegations of abuse during their stay. on July 16, Singapore High Court ruled the mother had committed defamation and later ordered him to pay S $ 130,000 in damages and Tjiong and Bantleman S $ 100,000 to JIS. Then, on August 14, the two teachers were released from prison in Cipinang East Jakarta after Jakarta High Court overturned their convictions.
most people who go to against the temperamental Indonesian legal system does not have strong networks of legal and international support. Even if they have the support, they can not be released as quickly as foreigners. This was demonstrated in Papua last year, when two French journalists were arrested in August for violating the immigration law because they were tourist visas while making a documentary about separatism. The pair spent two months and 15 days in prison, while the man they were interviewing, Areki Wanimbo, head of the Tribal Council Lani Besar, spent nine months in custody on tenuous charges of conspiracy to commit a betrayal. According Papuans behind bars, a group of local rights, at least 47 Papuan political prisoners are still being held, many would have been subjected to arbitrary arrests, torture and unfair trials.
The Suharto regime established the model for the arrests and unlawful detentions. This was highlighted by the case of Marsinah and Udin. Marsinah was a 25 year-old worker in a factory of the watch in Sidoarjo, East Java. She participated in a strike in March 1993, for the minimum wage and menstrual leave. The local district military command interrogated and shot 13 of the strike leaders. Marsinah went to the district commander to complain. His body was found three days later. She had been beaten, tortured and raped to death. Prosecutors and police did not dare blame the military for the murder, but jailed owners, managers and guardians of the plant, all of which were later exonerated and freed.
In 1996, journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, better known as Udin, wrote an article from the Regent of Bantul in Yogyakarta, Sri Roso Sudarmo, had paid a bribe of Rp.2 billion Dharmais Foundation Suharto to be re- elected. Udin was stoned in front of his house and died three days later. The police refused to arrest the killer or the Regent. Instead, they chose a scapegoat, Dwi Sumaji, plied him with alcohol, tricked him to sign a confession and concocted a case against him so ridiculous it was finally rejected by the court .
The assassins Marsinah and Udin were never brought to justice, but as long as the higher courts overturn keep the dummy verdicts of the lower courts, there is still hope that Indonesia can really become one day a "negara hukum of."