JULY 1994 AI INDEX: ASA 21/28/94



On the evening of 20 April 1994, Jery Manafe, a 21 year old university student, was beaten to death by a group of ten police officers and cadets in Kupang, West Timor, Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). The apparent motive for the killing was Jery's involvement in a fight with a plainclothes policeman earlier the same evening.

Jery was abducted by his attackers from the emergency ward of a hospital where he had been taken by his brother after sustaining injuries in the fight. As he lay receiving medical attention, ten policemen and police cadets (including the man with whom he had just fought) entered the ward and began to beat him. The doctor in charge tried to intervene but was ignored by the police. When Jery's brother attempted to use the telephone to inform military police headquarters, one of the officers reportedly said: "Don't telephone, this is police business."

Jery was taken from the hospital by the policemen and driven in an official vehicle to the provincial police headquarters (Polisi Wilayah or Polwil NTT), where the beating continued. The doctor who had been unsuccessful in preventing the beating, immediately reported the kidnapping to the military police. A few hours later, Jery's abductors brought him to another hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10.30 pm. According to a local newspaper report, a doctor stated that Jery was frothing heavily from his mouth and nose, and that he had a swelling of 8cm above his left eye. Another article reported that Jery had been kicked and punched in the stomach so severely that his intestines had been forced out of his anus.

Following angry public protests over Jery's death on 21 April, led by university students and young people, the National Chief of Police, the Chief of Police for the Nusa Tenggara region, and the Deputy Chief of Police for the province, all publicly condemned the behaviour of the ten policemen. They said that they would be dismissed from service and tried in a military court. The National Chief of Police urged the military court to impose the most severe sentence on the ten, and a police spokesman for the Regional Police Command said: ""They are not police but gangsters...There is no place for them except jail". The Head of the National Police School in Kupang was dismissed from his post for failing to control the police cadets involved in the assault.

Amnesty International welcomes the public condemnation of the killing of Jery Manafe made by the Indonesian police authorities and the expression of intent that those responsible for this crime will be brought to justice.
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS: Please send airmail letters in either in English or in your own language:

! welcoming the public condemnation of the killing of Jery Manafe made by the
Indonesian police authorities;

! requesting that you be informed of the outcome of the trial of the ten police officers and cadets;


APPEALS TO:

Maj. Gen (Pol.) Banurusman Atmosumitro (Chief of National Police)
Kepala Kepolisian RI
Markas Besar Kepolisian RI
Jl. Trunojoyo 13
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan
Indonesia

Maj. Gen. Amrin Syarofi (Chief of Police for Nusa
Polda Nusa Tenggara Tenggara Region)
Denpasar, Bali
Indonesia

Lt. Col. Johanes Paulus (Deputy Chief of Police for Nusa Polwil NTT Tenggara Timor Province)
Kupang
Timor Barat, NTT
Indonesia


COPIES OF APPEALS TO:

Ali Alatas S.H (Minister of Foreign Affairs)
Menteri Luar Negeri
Jl. Medan Taman Pejambon No.6
Jakarta
Indonesia

KEYWORDS: EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTION / STUDENTS / POLICE / INVESTIGATION OF ABUSES /

INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT, 1 EASTON STREET, LONDON WC1X 8DJ, UNITED KINGDOM

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