A 14-year-old in Tual, Moluccas, was the victim of violence by police officers. He died after being struck using a tactical helmet by a member of the police.
Tual is a town on a small island of the Maluku archipelago, which does not appear on the map.
This case of violence stirred the emotions and sympathies of the public nationwide, prompting calls for the police to take the incident seriously.
The head of the RI Police, has already promised that the case will be handled transparently according to the law.
Oknum has now been arrested and formally dishonorably discharged after undergoing intensive examinations for 13 hours.
In order to maintain the conduciousness of the region and avoid mass escalation, legal proceedings against the perpetrators are now transferred to Ambon to be processed through the civil justice system under the strict supervision of various elements of the community.
Boy Lekipiouw, a lawyer from Pattimura University's Legal Aid Institute (LBH), said that the current situation in Tual is quite conducive after the victims' families went to the local police, in order to be held legally accountable.
The Pattimura University Legal Aid Institute, together with cross-sectoral figures, continues to monitor the case in order to ensure transparency and prevent a repeat of the repression of civilians by the authorities, especially vulnerable groups.
The situation in Tual was gradually conducive as the police responded to the demands of the victims' families, although the authorities' dark record of violence against indigenous people in Maluku remains a sharp spotlight for human rights enforcement in the region.
Great hopes now rest on the court in Ambon to be able to provide true justice for the abandoned families as well as to be the momentum of a total evaluation for the security institutions.
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Nurhadi Sucahyo
