Indonesia Arrests Firebrand Cleric’s Lawyer Over Attacks

28/04/21

Police arrested Islam Defenders Front leader Rizieq Shihab’s lawyer, Munarman, in a raid this week.

Police arrested Islam Defenders Front leader Rizieq Shihab’s lawyer, Munarman, in a raid on his house in Jakarta’s satellite city of Tangerang after interrogating scores of suspected militants detained after an attack outside a Roman Catholic cathedral during Palm Sunday Mass last month.

Munarman, who goes by one name, was the general secretary of the now-defunct Islam Defenders Front, widely known by the Indonesian acronym FPI, which was once on the political fringes and has a long record of vandalizing nightspots, hurling stones at Western embassies and attacking rival religious groups. It wants Islamic Shariah law to apply to Indonesia’s 230 million Muslims.

“He is accused of an evil conspiracy to carry out acts of terror,” National Police spokesperson Argo Yuwono said in a statement. He said Munarman incited people to commit radical acts and hid information about terrorism from authorities.

Police are still investigating his house in Tangerang and the disbanded FPI’s headquarters in central Jakarta, where they seized chemicals for use in explosives, Ahmad Ramadhan, another police spokesman, said in a news conference late Tuesday.

The government banned FPI in December, saying it had no legal grounds to operate as a civil organization and that its activities often violated the law and caused public disorder. Police arrested Shihab, the group’s founder and chairman, on charges of inciting people to breach pandemic restrictions by holding events with large crowds.

Munarman, a former human rights lawyer before joining FPI, has been one of Shihab’s lawyers since the firebrand cleric’s trial in East Jakarta District Court began last month.

[…]

https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/indonesia-arrests-firebrand-clerics-lawyer-over-attacks/

https://en.tempo.co/read/1456921/densus-88-arrests-former-fpi-secretary-munarman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munarman

https://www.kompas.com/tren/read/2021/04/27/201500865/profil-munarman-mantan-sekum-fpi-yang-ditangkap-densus-88-terkait-kasus?page=all (INDONESIAN)

https://voi.id/fr/bernas/31632/qui-est-munarman-ancien-secretaire-en-chef-du-fpi-qui-etait-un-defenseur-des-droits-de-lhomme-et-inspire-par-abu-bakar-baasyir (FRANCAIS)

Indonesia/Burma: Two rights lawyers arrested at ASEAN protests

24/04/21

Today at around 2 p.m, some of the mass actions & two of Public Interest Lawyers Assistances of LBH Jakarta were arrested when providing legal assistance in action to convey public aspirations which carried out Solidarity for the Civilians of Myanmar at the Secretariat ASEAN pic.twitter.com/3lTy0ANwe7

— LBH JAKARTA (@LBH_Jakarta) April 24, 2021

During the #ASEAN leaders meeting on Myanmar, @LBH_Jakarta lawyers are arrested to providing legal assistance to peaceful protesters in front of #ASEAN secretariat. #WhatsHappeningInMyanmar pic.twitter.com/F6TJnss4QQ

— rachel arinii (@rachelarinii) April 24, 2021

The two lawyers arrested are Andrie Yunus and Ridwan Herdika. Again for merely providing legal assistance to those unfairly arrested.https://t.co/XPLxCbsaha

— #MilkTeaAlliance (@AllianceMilkTea) April 24, 2021

Andrie Yunus and Ridwan Herdika is arrested and taken to south jakarta police office. They are providing legal assistance for JRMK and UPC who are doing a peaceful protest in front of #ASEAN secretariat.

To add, 6 protesters R arrested.#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar #ASEANrejectSAC https://t.co/WgzcoL4CZ4

— AungOung (@AungOung1) April 24, 2021

Alerta Alerta!!!

Kemarin, situasi demokrasi dicekam secara nyata telah terjadi di Wadas, Purworejo. Hari ini, cekaman terhadap demokrasi kembali dilakukan di Jakarta.

BEBASKAN KAWAN KAMI!#RebutDemokrasi https://t.co/KlN0pJ3lIl

— YLBHI-LBH Yogyakarta (@LBHYogyakarta) April 24, 2021

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20210424185059-20-634295/lbh-jakarta-sebut-peserta-demo-myanmar-diangkut-polisi (INDONESIAN)

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20210424204748-12-634319/sempat-ditangkap-di-demo-junta-myanmar-2-staf-lbh-dilepas

Sempat Ditangkap di Demo Junta Myanmar, 2 Staf LBH Dilepas

Indonesia: Death of lawyer fighting Chinese-funded Indonesian dam casts shadow over project

05/12/20

In Indonesia, environmental activism can be a risky business. Golfrid Siregar knew that. His wife, Resmi Barimbing, knew it, too. Last year, Siregar would tell Barimbing it was no longer safe in the port city of Medan, where since 2016 he had worked as a lawyer for the largest environmental organisation in the Southeast Asian archipelago.

“Don’t go too far from home,” she recalls him warning her one day last autumn, not long before Siregar was found lying unconscious, gravely injured beside his motorcycle on the side of the road. Three strangers loaded him into a pedicab and took him to the Mitra Sejati Hospital, but Siregar never woke up, and three days later, on October 6, he died.

North Sumatra Police filed the incident as a traffic accident, citing the Batam City native for driving under the influence, having found traces of alcohol in his stomach. For Siregar’s wife and fellow activists, shock gave way to incredulity. Seeing his wounds in the intensive care unit and the state of his clothes, things did not add up. They knew he was not a heavy drinker, and would never have driven drunk. Why was his head so battered, one of his eyes bruised, but the rest of his body untouched? Why was he not, as he always would have been, wearing his helmet? Why did he have mud on his trousers if he crashed on a paved road? Why did his motorcycle show so little damage, and the asphalt no signs of skidding?

Four days after Siregar’s death, a coalition of human-rights NGOs issued a statement calling for an independent investigation, on suspicions Siregar had been murdered. Later that month, coalition member Amnesty International wrote an open letter to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, saying they “presumed [Siregar] was killed, it wasn’t an accident”, pointing to the “incongruous details” in the case.

“As his wife, I suspect he was murdered,” wrote Barimbing in a statement to Post Magazine. “I suspect that his death had something to do with his work as a human-rights and environmental activist.” Aside from her now being a widow, Siregar, not yet 40 years old, also “left behind a young child”.

[…]

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3112377/death-lawyer-fighting-chinese-funded-indonesian

Irregularities surrounding police investigation in to death of Indonesian human rights activist Golfrid Siregar

https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063371389

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/10/indonesia-investigate-environmental-lawyers-death

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/14/vocal-unafraid-indonesia-activists-sudden-death-questioned/

https://www.suara.com/news/2020/10/05/230000/mengenang-setahun-kepergian-golfrid-siregar-hanya-diwarnai-kejanggalan (INDONESIAN)

https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golfrid_Siregar

Indonesia/Australia: Indonesian human rights lawyer Koman refuses to be cowed on Papua

October 22, 2019

Veronica Koman, a human rights lawyer sought by Indonesian police over Twitter posts authorities blame for fanning unrest in the Papua region, has a tattoo on each wrist.

The first, inked when she was in her late teens and a fervent nationalist, reads simply “Indonesia” and, she says, meant that “Indonesia is running through my veins”.

The second, which she got a few years later after becoming “exposed to social justice”, has become a defiant riposte to the vitriol she has received for defending activists and advocating self-determination for Papua, Indonesia’s easternmost provinces.

The tattoo reads “DILLIGAF”, an abbreviation for a crude saying which roughly stands for “Do I look like I give a damn?”

“I’ve actually been experiencing this weird systematic attack, if you like, online since I think it was almost two years ago,” Koman said in an interview in Australia, where she is now living.

The threats can come in slickly produced video posted on YouTube or comments from anonymous social media accounts.

The abuse includes death threats, incitements to sexual assault and racist slurs, online material reviewed by Reuters showed. It also includes the publication of personal information about her and her family.

…

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-papua-lawyer/indonesian-human-rights-lawyer-koman-refuses-to-be-cowed-on-papua-idUSKBN1X10WH

https://acfid.asn.au/media-releases/veronica-koman-receives-sir-ronald-wilson-human-rights-award

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/10/24/veronica-koman-wins-australian-human-rights-award-for-papua-activism.html

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/10/17/veronica-koman-meets-with-australian-mps-about-papua.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-24/veronica-koman-west-papua-human-rights-lawyer-activist-awards/11633222

https://www.miragenews.com/veronica-koman-receives-sir-ronald-wilson-human-rights-award/

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/401682/indonesian-human-rights-lawyer-wins-prize-for-west-papua-work

Indonesian human rights defender Veronica Koman receives Sir Ronald Wilson Human Rights Award

https://law.anu.edu.au/news-and-events/news/veronica-koman-opens-about-her-west-papua-advocacy

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/internasional/20191017072645-113-440201/veronica-koman-temui-parlemen-australia-bahas-persoalan-papua (INDONESIAN)

https://kastara.id/18/10/2019/soal-veronica-koman-dilema-australia-antara-kedaulatan-indonesia-dan-ham-papua/ (INDONESIAN)

Congratulations to @VeronicaKoman (LLM '19), who has been awarded the Sir Ronald Wilson Human Rights Award by @ACFID for her legal representation and advocacy for West Papuans.

Read about the resilience of a remarkable #ANULaw alumna. @ANUmedia @ourANU https://t.co/pfyCytwuYW

— ANU College of Law (@ANU_Law) October 23, 2019

(Veronica Koman Facebook, 23/10/19)

(L’Observatoire des Avocats Facebook, 23/10/19)

Indonesia/Australia: Papua unrest: Social media bots ‘skewing the narrative’

October 11, 2019

Indonesia’s Papua province has become the focus of a well-funded social media campaign using bots to promote a pro-government agenda, the BBC has found.

A long-running Papuan separatist movement has flared in recent months, sparking fresh calls for self-rule.

But with access to the region heavily restricted, social media has become a key source for the foreign press.

One expert told the BBC the apparently co-ordinated campaigns were seeking to skew international views of Papua.

…

Targeted abuse from bots

The Twitter bot networks revealed by the BBC investigation have actively targeted Indonesia human rights lawyer Veronica Koman.

She told the BBC: “Rape and death threats are now part of my daily life.”

Now based in Australia, she has been a major source on social media of photos and footage of protests and unrest, sharing information passed to her by contacts in Papua.

Ms Koman now stands accused by the government of spreading “false news” and “provoking unrest” by publishing reports about the racist attacks on Papua students in Java.

She faces charges under the controversial Electronic Information and Transactions law (ITE) that makes it illegal to spread “fake news”. If found guilty she could be jailed for six years.

Press and rights groups say this law suppresses free speech and is open to misuse.

…

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49983667

https://pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/indonesia-facebook-removes-hundreds-fake-indonesian-west-papua-accounts-10539

https://unpo.org/article/21680

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/more-than-16-000-people-flee-unrest-in-indonesia-s-papua

The West Papua Uprising: A Call to Stand Up and Fight!

Indonesia: Investigate Environmental Lawyer’s Death

October 10, 2019

Golfrid Siregar Helped to Protect Sumatra’s Rainforests, Villagers

Indonesian authorities should immediately and impartially investigate the death of an environmental lawyer, Golfrid Siregar, in Medan, North Sumatra, Human Rights Watch said today.

After midnight on October 3, 2019, a pedicab driver found Siregar unconscious and seriously injured on a street in Medan, the provincial capital, and took him to a local hospital. He never regained consciousness and died on October 6. He had suffered multiple injuries and his wallet and other personal effects were missing.

“Golfrid Siregar was an environmental lawyer and grassroots activist who had dedicated his life to protecting Sumatra’s rainforests and helping villagers protect their land,” said Andreas Harsono, senior Indonesia researcher. “His death under suspicious circumstances demands a prompt, thorough investigation of all those implicated.”

Siregar, 34, represented the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia, or Walhi), Indonesia’s largest environmental group, in a lawsuit against North Sumatra’s governor over his 2017 approval for the construction of the US$1.5 billion Batang Toru hydroelectric dam. Walhi had argued that the permit issuance process was problematic and was appealing two earlier court verdicts they had lost. He had also sought legal action against the police in a related matter for their alleged failure to adequately respond to a complaint.

…

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/10/indonesia-investigate-environmental-lawyers-death

Suspicions of murder in death of Indonesian environmental activist

https://en.tempo.co/read/1258483/police-name-3-suspects-tied-to-death-of-activist-golfrid-siregar

https://www.euronews.com/2019/10/10/indonesia-green-group-calls-for-probe-into-death-of-activist

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/indonesian-environmental-activist-golfrid-siregar-feared-murdered

The death of a fiercely contested Indonesian lawyer asks colleagues questions

https://www.tribunnews.com/regional/2019/10/11/kasus-kematian-golfrid-siregar-tukang-becak-yang-bawa-pengacara-walhi-itu-ke-rs-jadi-tersangka (INDONESIAN)

https://www.hrw.org/fr/news/2019/10/10/indonesie-enqueter-sur-la-mort-dun-avocat-defenseur-des-droits-environnementaux (FRANCAIS)

https://www.courrierinternational.com/une/climat-en-indonesie-soupcons-dassassinat-apres-la-mort-dun-activiste-environnemental (FRANCAIS)

Indonesia/Australia: Police Issue Red Notice to Interpol to Track and Capture Veronica Koman

September 20, 2019

East Java Police have officially put Veronica Koman, an Indonesian human rights lawyer and outspoken supporter of Papua independence, in its wanted persons list and submitted a red notice to Interpol to help capture her overseas, a police official said on Friday.

Police have declared Veronica a suspect, accusing her of spreading false information and provoking unrest in Papua and West Papua by publishing reports on the protests and attacks against Papuan students in East Java.

Investigators have summoned Veronica three times to be interrogated but she has yet to make an appearance. She is charged with violating the Electronic Information and Transactions Law and the Elimination of Racial and Ethnic Discrimination Law.

East Java Police Chief Insp. Gen. Luki Hermawan said according to police investigators Veronica has gone into hiding in Australia.

“According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Indonesian Embassy [in Canberra], Veronica has made contact with the embassy. We’ve put her name in our wanted persons list,” Luki said in Surabaya on Friday.

…

https://jakartaglobe.id/context/police-issue-red-notice-to-interpol-to-track-and-capture-veronica-koman

https://unpo.org/article/21672

At Least 20 Killed, Dozens Injured in Papua Unrest: Indonesian Military

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpol_notice

https://www.nusabali.com/berita/59956/polisi-temukan-barang-bukti-di-rumah-veronica-koman (INDONESIAN)

https://www.tribunnews.com/nasional/2019/09/21/tindakan-terukur-polisi-untuk-bekuk-veronica-koman-di-australia (INDONESIAN)

https://hot.liputan6.com/read/4068146/video-pengertian-red-notice-interpol-status-veronica-koman (INDONESIAN)

https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1245590/aktivis-ham-veronica-koman-jalankan-tugas-bukan-sebar-hoaks (INDONESIAN)

https://news.detik.com/berita/d-4718774/veronica-koman-berkicau-soal-rusuh-di-papua-polri-angkat-bicara (INDONESIAN)

Tindakan Terukur Polisi untuk Bekuk #Veronica Koman di #Australia https://t.co/bgUTdKCPy5 pic.twitter.com/LAN4Gxvs1C

— Tribun (@TribunNew5) September 21, 2019

Pengacara advokat Papua Barat yang meninggal dunia, Veronica Koman, yang diberitakan berada di Australia, kini menjadi buron pemerintah Indonesia dengan tuduhan menyebarkan konten berita bohong atau hoaks… https://t.co/YWdfaGfJtB

— SBS Indonesian (@SBSIndonesia) September 22, 2019

Indonesia/UN/Australia: Indonesia Condemns Statement by UN Experts on Papua Unrest

September 20, 2019

Indonesia has condemned a press statement issued by five independent United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteurs in which they expressed serious concern over recent development in Papua.

The five rapporteurs also urged the Indonesian government on Tuesday to drop all charges against human rights lawyer Veronika Koman, whom they said had been “subjected to harassment and abuse online for her work on alleged human rights violations in Papua.”

Police have declared Veronika a suspect, accusing her of spreading false information and provoking unrest in Papua and West Papua by publishing reports on the protests and attacks against Papuan students in East Java.

Sporadic unrest in broke out in several cities in Indonesia’s two easternmost provinces after racial animosity by hardline Muslims and members of the police and military against Papuan students in Surabaya, East Java, in August.

The government said false information and provocative content spread on social media, including by Veronika, had contributed to the unrest.

…

https://jakartaglobe.id/context/indonesia-condemns-statement-by-un-experts-on-papua-unrest

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/09/18/un-calls-indonesia-protect-veronica-koman.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-18/veronica-koman-pro-papua-lawyer-may-be-hiding-australia/11516246

https://en.tempo.co/read/1250173/veronica-koman-fugitive-police-issue-red-notice-for-interpol?TerkiniUtama&campaign=TerkiniUtama_Click_1

https://regional.kompas.com/read/2019/09/20/16510971/fakta-terkini-kasus-veronica-koman-resmi-masuk-dpo-hingga-polisi-minta (INDONESIAN)

https://surabaya.kompas.com/read/2019/09/20/12190111/polda-jatim-tetapkan-veronica-koman-sebagai-buronan?page=all (INDONESIAN)

Kepolisian Daerah Jawa Timur Jumat (20/9) pagi resmi mengumumkan penetapan Veronica Koman, tersangka kasus penyebaran hoaks dan provokasi kasus Papua masuk dalam DPO Kepolisian Repubik Indonesia.#CNNIDConnected https://t.co/ns6OyEyJew pic.twitter.com/wdH7FPgt8B

— CNN Indonesia Daily (@CNNIDdaily) September 20, 2019

Kasus Papua dan Aktivis Veronica Koman Sampai ke Sidang Dewan HAM PBB – https://t.co/ijmv2MxwuJ https://t.co/1cKJOH0FuH

— Deiyai – Papua (@atdeiyai) September 20, 2019

https://t.co/qIW0cUrNyv

Polisi resmi menetapkan status DPO kepada Veronica Koman. Status DPO ini diterbitkan… https://t.co/ykF0ZPqPX6

— Syafrizal Aghny (@AghnySyafrizal) September 20, 2019

Sita Sejumlah Dokumen Polisi Geledah Rumah Veronica Koman https://t.co/aB3r8wJ7yP

— Ayu Putri Rianti (@riantinada) September 20, 2019

Pemerintah Jawab Desakan Ahli PBB soal Veronica Koman https://t.co/eDBQKg9oYf
#VeronicaKoman #FreeWestPapua

— P.Lanny(puncak gunung) (@migara9) September 20, 2019

Polda Jatim Resmi Terbitkan DPO untuk Tersangka Veronica Komanhttps://t.co/TP1vAAihtM

— iNews (@OfficialiNewsTV) September 20, 2019

Indonesia/Australia: Australia refuses to rule out handing over Sydney lawyer who advocates for West Papuans to Indonesia

September 17, 2019

The Australian government has refused to rule out handing over a Sydney-based lawyer who advocates for West Papuans to Indonesian authorities.

Veronica Koman, an Indonesian human rights lawyer who currently lives in Australia, is being pursued by Indonesian police for disseminating evidence of police- and military-backed violence in West Papua.

Koman has been a credible source of eyewitness accounts, photos and footage of protests that have swept across West Papua and other Indonesian provinces in recent weeks.

Several people have reportedly died and dozens of others injured in violent clashes with Indonesian police, military and military-backed militia, which were sparked by the racist abuse of Papuan students in Java but have morphed into a demand for a referendum on West Papuan independence.

Koman faces charges under the country’s controversial electronic information and transactions law, and faces up to six years in jail if found guilty.

East Java police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera told the Guardian that if Koman did not report to Indonesian authorities by 18 September, a red notice would be issued through Interpol for her arrest. “After that we will work with the international police,” he said.

…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/17/australia-refuses-to-rule-out-handing-over-sydney-lawyer-who-advocates-for-west-papuans-to-indonesia

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-does-not-rule-out-handing-over-human-rights-lawyer-to-indonesia

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/398922/un-urges-indonesia-to-protect-koman

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/human-rights-lawyer-veronica-koman-breaks-silence-slams-indonesian-authorities/news-story/a799a0f29fca3fc59bed0983bf8a48ac

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/09/16/un-human-rights-experts-express-support-for-veronica-koman-in-papua-case.html

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/west-papua-unrest-tests-indonesia-jokowi-term-begins-190911060733265.html

UN experts urge Indonesia to protect human rights defender Veronica Koman

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/492392

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/internasional/20190917135734-134-431227/ahli-pbb-desak-ri-cabut-sangkaan-terhadap-veronica-koman (INDONESIAN)

Indonesia/Australia: Indonesia: Support Letter Ms. Veronica Koman | Joint Letter

September 13, 2019

LRWC and L4L sent a joint letter calling on Indonesian authorities to withdraw criminal charges against human rights lawyer Veronica Koman, charged for disseminating information about police violence against Papuan students peacefully protesting for Papuan self-determination. The letter was sent to the Ministers of Political, Legal and Security Affairs, of Law and Human Rights and of Immigration along with the President and the Police Chief for the East Java region.

---

The President of the Republic of Indonesia
His Excellency Mr. Ir. Joko Widodo
Jl. Veteran No. 16
Jakarta Pusat
INDONESIA

Amsterdam, 12 September 2019

Subject: Support Letter Ms. Veronica Koman

Your Excellency,

Lawyers for Lawyers (“L4L”) is an independent and non-political Dutch foundation that seeks to promote the proper functioning of the rule of law by pursuing freedom and independence of the legal profession. Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (“LRWC”) is a committee of lawyers and others who promote international human rights through advocacy, legal research and education.

L4L and LRWC write to express their concern about the police charges against Ms. Veronica Koman.

Veronica Koman is a prominent, independent human rights lawyer who previously worked as a public interest lawyer at the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) in Jakarta. LBH provides legal aid to the poor and marginalized people in Indonesia. Specifically, Veronica Koman has specialized in defending the rights of international refugees, women & LGBTIQs and West Papuans.

In previous years, Veronica Koman received multiple (death and rape) threats for defending the rights of accused persons in high-profile political cases, among which three legal cases involving Papuan indigenous people who were accused of separatism.

…

Indonesia: Support Letter Ms. Veronica Koman | Joint Letter

Letter on behalf of Veronica Koman

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24990&LangID=E

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/urges-indonesia-protect-rights-west-papua-activists-190916081502990.html

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/492129

https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/threats-against-and-judicial-harassment-human-rights-lawyer-veronica-koman

https://en.tempo.co/read/1246104/police-issue-second-summons-letter-for-veronica-koman

https://en.tempo.co/read/1247511/police-trace-suspicious-transactions-in-veronica-komans-accounts

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/398897/increase-noted-in-intimidation-of-legal-advocates-for-papuans

https://regional.kompas.com/read/2019/09/15/13392941/fakta-baru-kasus-veronica-koman-polisi-temukan-6-rekening-hingga-bantah?page=all (INDONESIAN)

https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20190914105624-20-430447/lsm-asing-surati-jokowi-setop-kasus-veronica-koman (INDONESIAN)