15 Apr 2013

Indonesian torture not seen as crime in Papua, says researcher

1:03 pm on 15 April 2013

A researcher says Indonesian security forces continue to have impunity for their use of torture in Papua region because the practice isn't considered a crime.

Budi Hernawan, a specialist in Papua and the politics of torture at the Australian National University, says torture has become a way for the Indonesian state to demonstrate its power to Papuans.

Mr Hernawan says the use of torture by police and military is persistent, widespread and generally used as a means of controlling locals rather than intelligence information gathering.

He says few cases go to court, such as the 2009 incident of soldiers torturing Papuan farmers which was filmed and went viral on the internet.

"And the court hearing under court martials that heard the case never mentioned the word torture during the whole court proceedings. The whole argument and the whole charge against the soldiers was all about disobedience. So it's all internal procedure, internal matters."

Budi Hernawan