Komnas HAM Will Go To Langkat, Investigate Findings Of Human Cage At The Regent's House Published A Wind War Plan

Komnas HAM Commissioner Muhammad Choirul Anam/DOK VOI- Wardhany Tsa Tsia

JAKARTA - The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) will send a team to Langkat Regency, North Sumatra to investigate the existence of a human cage in the house of the inactive Langkat Regent.

This team was sent following a report from the Indonesian Association for Sovereign Migrant Workers, Migrant Care. This group suspects that Terbit Plan is suspected of confining 40 palm oil workers in cages that look like prisons.

"We will immediately send a team there, to North Sumatra and continue to communicate with various parties," Komnas HAM Commissioner Muhammad Choirul Anam told reporters, Monday, January 24.

The dispatch of this team must be done quickly so that the victims receive protection. Moreover, if there are allegations of torture.

"Don't lose one tooth today, because it took us a long time to respond, tomorrow we will lose two or three teeth. The sooner the better the prevention," he said.

Anam said the team would also dig up a number of question marks regarding the existence of the cage. For example, what is the exact number of workers locked up and where they come from.

Meanwhile, Migrant Care, represented by Anis Hidayah, said that the alleged existence of a human cage in Terbit Plan's house was a report from the community. He said there were allegations of modern slavery practices that were revealed when the KPK's arrest operation (OTT) succeeded in ensnaring Terbit.

"There are oil palm workers in their fields (Plan Warin Angin, ed.), we find that there are seven cruel and inhumane treatments which we suspect are modern slavery and human trafficking," said Anis.

The seven cruel treatments included Terbit building a prison or human cage in his house to accommodate oil palm workers, the workers were not allowed to go anywhere, were beaten, given inadequate food twice a day, and were not paid.

"Then of course you don't have access to communication with outsiders," he said.

"Based on the case, we reported it to Komnas HAM because it was very heinous. We just found out that there is a regional head who is supposed to protect his citizens but instead uses his power to arbitrarily carry out actions that violate human rights principles, are anti-torture, and anti-trafficking," he concluded. Anis.

As previously reported, this 'prison' was first discovered when the KPK searched the house of Terbit Planning Warin Angin during a hand arrest operation (OTT).

The North Sumatran Police Chief, Inspector General Panca Putra Simanjuntak, confirmed the prison-like cage building at the Terbit Angin Warin Plan residence. There were 3-4 people at that location.

"It's true that we found a place resembling a cage containing 3-4 people. From our research, it's not the 3-4 people. We are investigating what the problem is, why is there a cage," said Inspector General Panca in Medan, Monday, January 24.

However, said Inspector General Panca, the place was used as a rehabilitation location for victims of drug abuse. The 'prison', he said, had existed for more than 10 years.

"From the results of our investigation, it is a rehabilitation place that has been made personally and lasts for 10 years to rehabilitate drug victims," he explained.

Inspector General Panca said, when he looked directly at the location, his party found that there were people who had just entered 2 days before the OTT KPK incident. Meanwhile, based on the regent's confession, the Publishing Plan for Warring Angin stated that there were also victims of drug abuse who were working in the fields.

The Kapoldasu said that the Langkat Regent's rehabilitation was managed privately and did not have a permit.

"It's private (owned), I don't have a permit yet. I studied how the health checks and those who worked there were. From the explanation in question, employing inmates who were healthy, were re-employed there. Most of them were rehabilitated personally, that's quite good, " said Inspector General Panca.