DIY Ministry Of Law And Human Rights Investigate Alleged Persecution In Prison

ILLUSTRATION/PIXABAY

YOGYAKARTA - The Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkum HAM) of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) has dispatched an investigation team following complaints of alleged mistreatment by guards against a number of inmates at the Class IIA Narcotics Prison in Yogyakarta, Pakem, Sleman.

"I, as Kakanwil (head of the regional office) started yesterday evening ordering the head of the (correctional) division to carry out an investigation," said Head of the Regional Office of the Ministry of Law HANDIY Budi Argap Situngkir at the Class IIA Narcotics Prison in Yogyakarta, Pakem, Sleman, quoted by Antara, Tuesday, November 1.

He confirmed that he would openly disclose the results of the investigation into the alleged case on the basis of actual facts.

Budi also promised not to tolerate any officers who were later proven to have committed violations, including removing the head of the prison.

"We will remove the KPLP (Penitentiary Security Unit), the head of the prison, if the treatment is correct. But if it's not true how sad we are to oppress, I don't want my hands to dirty the sweat of people who have worked so hard to make people in this prison good," he said. Budi.

Although the investigation has not yet been completed, he suspects that several former inmates who complained and claimed to be mistreated were none other than because they were frustrated with the strict rules while in prison, ranging from the ban on the use of cell phones and money transactions.

According to him, the Yogyakarta Class II A Narcotics Prison is a prison that has a good coaching program. In fact, a number of provinces will use the prison as a model.

"If it's for naughty prisoners, it's hot here. They will do a 'counter', they will fight how to prevent (rules) from being like that," he said.

According to Budi, a team from the Regional Office of Kumham DIY has attempted to directly ask for information from former inmates who complained to the ORI Representative Office of DIY-Central Java.

"We have communicated with the complainant. The reporter did not dare to come here. We will take steps to communicate, where the treatment is uncomfortable, not good," he said.

Budi Situngkir explained that one of the inmates who reported alleged acts of abuse by prison officers to the Indonesian Ombudsman Representative of Yogyakarta, Vincentius, was currently undergoing the Conditional Leave (CB) program and was still under guidance from the Correctional Center.

"We make sure that what Vincent said, an inmate who is on conditional leave, is not true. The truth is that this prison is carrying out according to the SOP," said Budi.

Meanwhile, Head of the Correctional Division of the DIY Kemenkum HAM Regional Office, Gusti Ayu Putu Suwardani, said that the investigation team had gone directly to the field to examine the condition of the inmates in the prison.

"We can confirm that even though we haven't gone into depth because we haven't asked all of them, including the officers. Based on these facts, most of them admit that there was no (persecution) and that their bodies are all clean," he said.

Previously, a number of former inmates of the Yogyakarta Class II A Narcotics Prison complained to the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia (ORI) Representative of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) - Central Java on Monday, November 1, regarding the alleged abuse they experienced while in the prison.

Vincentius Titih Gita Arupadatu, one of the former prisoners of the Narcotics Prison, admitted that he experienced acts of violence while inhabiting the prison, ranging from being beaten, trampled on, to being beaten with the hard penis of a bull.