Komnas Urges Police to Investigate the Persecution of Nenek Saudah in Pasaman

JAKARTA - The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) asked the Pasaman Police and the West Sumatra Police to investigate the case of abuse against Saudah, an elderly woman victim of abuse in Pasaman Regency, West Sumatra (West Sumatra).

"Pasaman Police and West Sumatra Police to thoroughly investigate all perpetrators of beatings, including other perpetrators who have not been named as suspects, to ensure that the person who came and surrendered and admitted to being a perpetrator of beatings is true as a perpetrator," said Komnas Perempuan Chairperson Maria Ulfah Anshor in a Komnas Perempuan Hearing (RDP) with Commission XIII of the DPR, Monday, February 2, reported by ANTARA.

The police were also asked to ensure that the investigation process was transparent and free from the intervention of the economic interests of the mining capital owners, provide protection for the victims, including security guarantees during the legal process.

"Tracing and prosecuting illegal mining activities as the main context for violence, ensuring the recovery of victims based on the Witness and Victim Protection Law, including medical and psychosocial rehabilitation," said Maria Ulfah Anshor.

It is known that an elderly woman named Saudah was a victim of persecution allegedly following the rejection of illegal mining activities on the Batang Sibinai River, Pasaman Regency, West Sumatra, since 2023.

"The victim consistently refuses and prohibits mining activities, because it threatens the environment and his land, has the potential to damage the large rock that is sacred as a village protector from floods," said Maria Ulfah Anshor.

In this case, the Pasaman Police have named one suspect with the initials IS alias MK.