M. Raihan Muzzaki, Amirullah, Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) Deputy Director Husein Ahmad is asking the government to revise Law Number 31/1997 on Military Justice. He said that so far, the law has had the potential to result in impunity for TNI (Indonesian Military) members.
"Like so far it has resulted in impunity, TNI members are not afraid to commit criminal acts", Ahmad said when contacted by Tempo through a messaging app on Friday February 28.
According to Ahmad, this impunity has made TNI members feel immune if they commit criminal offenses. Because, he said, the Military Justice Law regulates the course of judiciary affairs in the military environment if soldiers are ensnared in criminal law cases.
Meanwhile the contents of Law Number 31/1997 state that the court is a body that exercises judicial authority within military justice which includes military courts, high military courts, main military courts and combat military courts.
Article 1 Paragraph 4 of the law states that military judges, high military judges and main military judges, hereinafter referred to as judges, are officials who each exercise judicial authority in the court.
Ahmad believes that military justice is too weak in providing a deterrent effect for TNI members. He said that the consequence of this was as if there are no severe sanctions if military soldiers committed crimes.
Meanwhile, Ahmad said, cases of attacks committed by TNI members up until now have always started from personal issues. He cited the attack by soldiers on the Cebongan Prison in Sleman, Yogyakarta, which was carried out by Sergeant Second Class Ucok Tigor Simbolon in 2013.
The incident was a case of premediated murder carried out by Simbolon and his associates. According to Ahmad, the sentence given to Simbolon at that time did not provide a deterrent effect.
"Murdering a person, now he's free. Even though a state institution was attacked, what was attacked remember was a prison. Regardless of what the motive was, what was committed was a crime, namely murder", he said.
In addition to this was the attack by TNI members on the Ciracas police station in East Jakarta, for example, which occurred in 2020. Ahmad said the punishments given to the soldiers involved in the Ciracas incident were also too light.
"Now, I don't see that there is any seriousness on the part of the TNI leadership in solving the problem even if there were sanctions, the sanctions are weak", Ahmad said.
Meanwhile the 67 TNI members involved in the Ciracas police station attack were sentenced to up to one year in prison. Some of them were also dismissed from the military. The dismissal and prison sentences were handed down by judges in the Jakarta II-08 Military Court.
"Out of the 67 defendants whose cases have been ruled on, 48 defendants said they accept [the sentences], 15 defendants submitted an appeal and four defendants stated they would think about it", said Main Military Court head Major General Abdul Rasyid on May 24, 2021.
The latest case involving members of the TNI was an attack on the Tarakan police station in North Kalimantan on Monday night, February 24. Dozens of TNI personnel allegedly set upon on Tarakan police officers resulting in five officers sustaining injures.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Imparsial Minta Pemerintah Revisi UU Peradilan Militer Hindari Impunitas di Tubuh TNI".]
