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TITLE: Call For Unconditional Release Of Muhammad Nazar |
AUTHOR: |
PUB: TAPOL |
DATE: January 25, 2000 |
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One of Aceh's foremost political activists, Muhammad Nazar, leader of SIRA, the Information Centre for a Referendum in Aceh, is shortly to go on trial and will face charges that make it an offence to express views regarded asbeing hostile to the Indonesian Government. His arrest, detention and forthcoming trial exposes the unreliability of the pledge made by the present government to uphold the principles of 'reformasi' and is aimed at undermining the efforts of significant sections of Acehnese civil society dedicated to the use of non-violent methods to resolve the ongoing political crisis in Aceh.Muhammad Nazar was taken into police custody on 20 November 2000, after he responded to a police summons to be questioned in connection with a peaceful demonstration held in Banda Aceh on 16 August 2000 at which the flag of the United Nations was unfurled in place of the Indonesian flag. The demonstration was held in defiance of the traditional unfurling of the Indonesian flag to mark the anniversary of Indonesia's independence on 17 August. His organisation, SIRA, later organised a pro-independence rally in Banda Aceh on 10-11 November. On that occasion, the security forces prevented hundreds of thousands of people from reaching Banda Aceh by opening fire on convoys of vehicles. At least 30 people were killed and hundreds were injured in many parts of the territory; local NGOs have since been trying to establish the final death toll. During the two months he spent in police custody, according to his lawyers, he was subjected to torture, ill-treatment and harassment. A ten-page dossier relating to his case was handed over by the police to Banda Aceh district court on 17 January and he was transferred from police custody to Keudah Prison, Banda Aceh, in readiness for the trial. No date for the trial has yet been announced but it is expected to be held some time in February. Reports have been circulating that the trial may betransferred to Jakarta because of the likelihood of 'security disorders' that might accompany his trial in Banda Aceh. Another factor in such a transfer may be that many Aceh-based judges have recently fled the territory as security conditions there continue to deteriorate. Muhammad Nazar will be tried under the notorious 'hate-spreading' articles154 and 155, and article 160 of the Indonesian Criminal Code. Article 154 makes it an offence to 'express hatred of the Indonesian government', punishable by a maximum sentence of seven years. Article 155 makes it an offence to express hatred in writing or in other material forms, punishable by a maximum of four and a half years, while Article 160 covers the offence of 'inciting others to commit acts of violence against public authority', punishable by a maxiumum of six years. These 'hate-spreading' laws were widely used against political activists during the Suharto era but this will be the first time that they are being used in the post-Suharto era. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Nazar's detention and trial is taking place against the background of a deteriorating security situation throughout Aceh when killings and the discovery of corpses have become daily events. His organisation, SIRA, has placed itself firmly on the side of a peaceful resolution to the protracted conflict and is on record calling on both sides to end the hostilities and bloodshed.While Nazar is to go on trial for peaceful activities, there has been no progress at all in bringing to book the numerous members of the security forces responsible for scores of killings and atrocities that have been perpetrated over a period of more than ten years in Aceh. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Pressure is needed to: 1. Protest at the continued detention of political activist Muhammad Nazar and call for his immediate, unconditional release. 2. Condemn plans to put him on trial for the peaceful expression of his pro-referendum views. 3. Condemn the decision to charge him under the 'hate-spreading' articles of the Indonesian Criminal Code as a return to the days of the Suharto era and call for the repeal of all the articles in the Criminal Code making the expression of political opinions critical of the government a criminal offence. Send letters or faxes to: 1. President KH Abdurrahman Wahid, (Dear President) President of the Republic of Indonesia,Istana Merdeka,Jakarta 10110, Indonesia Fax: 21 345-2685/526-8726 2. Chief of Police of Aceh, Brig-General ChaerulR. Rasyidi, (Dear Brigadier-General) Kapolda Aceh, Jl Cut Meutia N0 3, Banda Aceh, Indonesia Fax: 651 26689/22488/46864 Copies to: Dr Alwi Shihab, Foreign Minister, Jl Pejambon No. 6, Central Jakarta, Indonesia Fax: 21 380-5511/363-750/345-7782/360-541/724-5354 And to the Indonesian embassy or representative office in your country TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign, 111 Northwood Road, Thornton Heath, Croydon CR7 8HW, UK. tel 020 8771 2904 fax 020 8653 0322 e-mail: tapol@gn.apc.org END |