MUI Asks TIP Perpetrators To Be Severely Sentenced

Illustration: Officers arrange evidence of a criminal case of trafficking in persons (TPPO) when the case was released at the Ditreskrimum Polda Metro Jaya building, Jakarta, Friday (9/6/2023). (ANTARA PHOTO/Reno Esnir/aww.)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has asked the court to sentence the perpetrators of the Trafficking in Persons (TPPO) with severe punishment, because they have been involved in crimes against humanity.

"The court should sentence the perpetrators of TIP to severe punishment, so that there is a deterrent effect. TIP is a crime against humanity," said MUI Legal and Human Rights Commission Chairman Deding Ishak in a statement quoted by ANTARA, Monday, June 12.

Deding said the TIP of people is a serious humanitarian crime caused by complex, diverse, and growing modes of problems.

According to him, in an effort to eradicate TIP from upstream to downstream in Indonesia, synergy and harmonization of all relevant parties is needed.

This synergy ranges from families, communities, educational institutions, the business world, community organizations, to local and central governments, in breaking the chain of this crime.

"Handling TIP cases through synergistic actions between the Ministry of PPPA, the police, the prosecutor's office, and the Supreme Court, as well as relevant agencies and institutions including MUI, must be improved," he said.

In addition, said Deding, in the matter of trafficking in persons must also be seen from the root of the problem, namely economic needs and low education.

Therefore, the MUI encourages all parties to seriously address the issue as an effort to minimize the number of victims of TIP crimes, the majority of which are women and children.

"Also the police, with various efforts to be able to dismantle the TIP mafia," he said.

Previously, the TIP Polri Task Force handled 190 reports within one week starting from June 5 to 11.

The TIP mode carried out by the suspects included illegal migrant workers, working as household assistants as many as 157 people, being crew members as many as three people. Then the mode of being used as a Commercial Sex Worker (PSK) was 24 people.

"The mode of being used as a prostitute is in West Java with 11 reports, South Sumatra with two reports, West Kalimantan with two reports, East Kalimantan with eight reports, Central Java with one report. And there is also the exploitation of three reports of children," said Karopenmas, Police Public Relations Division, Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan.