Singgih Wiryono, Jakarta – During the momentum of the commemoration of the 63rd anniversary of the Attorney General's Office (AGO), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has reminded the AGO to follow up on cases of gross human rights violations, particularly those which the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has investigated and handed over to the AGO.
"The Attorney General's Office should seriously follow up on the investigation results of gross human rights violations and raise them to the status of a criminal investigation and carry out the prosecution of suspects seriously", said Kontras Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya in a statement on Monday July 24.
According to Kontras' records up until 2023, there are as many as 13 cases of gross human rights violations that have been left hanging without explanation by the AGO.
To this day, said Arya, the AGO has still not followed up on the investigation process and has even returned nine of the investigation dossiers to the Komnas HAM on the grounds that they are incomplete.
The nine cases include the 1965-1966 mass killings, the 1998 Talangsari massacre, the mysterious shootings in 1982-1985, the Trisakti, Semanggi I and II student shootings in 1997-98, the May 1998 riots in Jakarta, the forced disappearance of pro-democracy activists in 1997-1998, the 2001 Wasior and 2003 Wamena shootings in Papua, and the 1999 Simpang KKA massacre, the Geudong torture house and other incidents in Aceh province.
"In addition to showing that the AGO is neglecting the authority that is mandated to it by the law on human rights courts, it also shows that the AGO is ignoring the rights of the victims to obtain justice and the full disclosure of the truth", he said.
Kontras is also asked the Attorney General's Office to use the principle of caution in cases related to freedom of expression and not become tool to silence citizens.
"The AGO needs to be aware that the right to peaceful expression and assembly represents a constitutional right that is guaranteed by human rights principles", he said.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Kontras Ingatkan Kejaksaan Agung Serius Proses Kasus Pelanggaran HAM Berat".]
