Indonesian police involved in more than twenty EJKs

Indonesian police involved in more than twenty EJKs – Amnesty

JAKARTA — Indonesian police are believed to have been involved in dozens of extrajudicial killings (EJKs), killing more than thirty people. This indicates a lack of progress in police reforms, Amnesty International Indonesia said on Monday.

Amnesty recorded at least 116 cases of alleged police violence between January and November this year, including 29 cases of extrajudicial killings with 31 fatalities.

One of the latest cases came in late November, when a police officer allegedly shot dead a student in the city of Semarang, Central Java province. An officer has been arrested in connection with the case.

The case gained national attention after local police alleged that an officer took action to disperse a student fight. But Central Java police internal affairs chief Aris Supriyono told lawmakers at a hearing last week that the shooting was not related to dispersing a fight.

Cases of police brutality, including torture, improper use of tear gas and arbitrary arrests, demonstrate the lack of systematic progress in reforming Indonesia’s police, said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty Indonesia.

“If you add this to a series of police brutalities that are widely discussed by the public, it is clear that this year, 2024, does not show any improvement in the police system,” Usman said.

The National Police did not immediately respond to Agence France-Presse’s (AFP) request for comment.

Amnesty also recorded other cases of police violence during the same period, including 28 cases of intimidation and physical violence, as well as 26 cases of torture.

More than 500 people were subjected to police violence, including arbitrary arrests, physical violence and improper use of tear gas, between August 22 and 29 during demonstrations against changes to election rules in 14 cities across the archipelago, Amnesty recorded.

“This showed how policing is currently becoming authoritarian-repressive, and not the democratic-humanist policing as promised or prescribed by law,” Usman said.

Rights groups have accused Indonesian security forces of operating in a culture of impunity.