Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders says that the home of Veronica Koman's parents has been terrorised twice over a period of two weeks. The latest was in the form of a bomb attack.
Nelson, one of the Coalition's representative from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), revealed that the first incident occurred on October 24, while the second took place on Sunday November 7.
Nelson related that during the first incident two people on a motorcycle hung a package on the front gate of Koman's parent's home. A short time later the package burst into flames.
Nelson said that the incident was reported by Koman's parent's lawyer to the Metro Jaya regional police and registered as Police Report Number STTLP/B/5302/X/2021/SPKT/POLDA METRO JAYA.
A similar incident occurred during the second attack. At around 10.26 am two people threw two packages, one coloured green and the other coloured yellow, which are suspected to have contained bombs, which then exploded in the garage.
"The green and yellow coloured packages then exploded in the garage", said Nelson during a press conference on Monday November 8.
The explosions, said Nelson, could be heard from down the street causing a crowd to gather. The incident was witnessed by a house keeper who was outside washing a car and a state water company worker.
"[Later in the day] on November 7, 2021 also, there was another attack on Veronica Koman's family's home, in the form of a packet containing a chicken carcass and a threatening letter", he added.
Under surveillance
According to Nelson, the attacks and terror have traumatised Koman's parents and their neighbors. Nelson revealed the house had been under surveillance since 2019.
He said that on several occasions photographs of the house had been uploaded onto social media by anonymous accounts. "As a form of intimidation against Veronica Koman and he family", he said.
Nelson said that the state through law enforcement officials have an obligation to ensure the security and safety of all citizens, including Koman's parents.
Especially, said Nelson, since they have to link with Koman's activities.
In relation to this, the Coalition is urging the government and the police to conduct a criminal investigation which is effective, thorough and non-bias into the attacks.
"The Indonesian government, including the Indonesian police, have a responsibility and an international obligation to guarantee their right to life, freedom and safety as individuals, as spelt out under the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights", he explained. (yla/agn)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Rumah Orang Tua Veronica Koman Disebut 2 Kali Kena Teror".]
