The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) says there is sufficient evidence to show that police officers violated human rights in a bloody crackdown on the Third Papuan Peoples Congress in Jayapura, Papua, recently.
Komnas HAM commissioner Ridha Saleh said an excessive use of force was seen in the violent treatment of congress participants by police, and that police had attacked the participants after the congress was completed.
“The implementation of legal action against congress participants was not professional, and was not in accordance with standard operating procedures,” Ridha said Friday as quoted by kompas.com.
Komnas HAM chief Ifdhal Kasim said police officers could have handled the situation more carefully and didn’t need to use violence, considering that the congress was an official event.
“The police officers could have simply arrested [participants] when they announced self-governance,” he said.
Ridha added that the list of human rights violations that took place during the crackdown included torture, brutality and killing.