Michael Heselo was a 31-year-old farmer from Wouma village near Wamena town, Jayawijaya district, when he was arrested and charged with treason following an alleged raid on the Jayawijaya District Military Command weapons arsenal on 4 April 2003.
A report by a local NGO coalition states that Mr Heselo was initially arrested at his home on 7 April, three days after the raid. He was then released on the condition that he reported regularly to the police. On subsequent days, the police searched his house when he was not at home and took some of his possessions, including IDR 350,000 (around $40) in cash. The police then reportedly forced one of Mr Heselo’s friends to accompany them to another village where they thought he might be hiding, but did not find him. Mr Heselo eventually gave himself up to the police on 21 April, as he was frightened after being hunted by the police and army for so long.
The NGO coalition report details visible evidence that Mr Heselo had been tortured. This included long thin burn marks all over his body, his face swollen with bruising around both temples, and his jaw was loose from beatings. Both his thumbnails had been pulled out, his two big toes and right index finger had been crushed under the leg of a table, and his right shin bone had been kicked with jackboots, resulting in severe injuries.
The same report also notes that although Mr Heselo was the only prisoner from this case who was permitted to see a lawyer, the following day on 28 April he was suddenly removed to the Papua Police Headquarters in Jayapura by military plane. The move took place without notification nor the provision of any explanation to his legal team.
An undated report by Alliance of Democracy for Papua (Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua, ALDP) noted many accusations of irregularities in the trial. These included the lack of translators and the prosecution remaining almost silent throughout the trial as their role was being assumed by the judges themselves. The judges reportedly failed to respect the defendants’ rights to be assumed innocent until proven guilty, and pushed the prisoners to accept the state’s version of the story. They also repeated prejudices about the local people of Wamena, such as “people here are lazy and stupid.” Mr Heselo was found guilty under the charges of treason (article 106 of the Indonesian penal code) and conspiracy (article 110) and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
There have been a number of concerns raised about the treatment of those incarcerated in connection with this case. In 2004 while imprisoned in Wamena prison, Mr Heselo and the other people accused of the raid on the weapons store were reportedly “still being intimidated by the intelligence of the Military District Command and Police Mobile Brigade, even when in jail,” according to Ms Anum Siregar, a member of their legal team. They were also allegedly being denied access to the prison hall, where they were supposed to be able to meet their families or take exercise, because the military were using it for their own purposes.
A report by ALDP (2008) describes the forced removal of Mr Heselo from Wamena prison, where he was initially held. On 15 December 2004 he, along with eight other prisoners, was reportedly woken in the middle of the night, beaten until bruised and bleeding and forced to get into a police vehicle. The prisoners were moved to Gunung Sari prison in Makassar on the island of Sulawesi, far from their families. The sudden nature of this move caused fears for their safety at the time.
On 31 August 2007 Mr Heselo died in Makassar after spending around one month at the Bayangkara Hospital. At the time, TAPOL reported that on hearing that Mr Heselo had been taken ill, members of his family had intended to visit him in hospital, but were unable to afford the plane tickets from Papua to Makassar. His death sparked protests in Jayapura, and demonstrators demanded that when Mr Heselo’s body was returned to Papua, the remaining eight Papuan prisoners in Makassar should be brought back as well, a demand echoed by the family of the deceased. All eight were political prisoners charged with treason, five in connection with this case and three in connection with a different case.
Sources
Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua, “Mereka pulang mimpi,” 5 February 2008, http://andawat-papua.blogspot.com/2008/02/mereka-pulang-mimpi.html
Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua, “Peristiwa Pembobolan Gudang Senjata KODIM 1702 Jayawijaya, Wamena, 4 April 2003,” [undated], http://www.aldepe.com/2011/04/peristiwa-pembobolan-gudang-senjata_04.html
NGO coalition for the protection and upholding of Human Rights in Papua, Jayapura, “Initial report into the 4 April 2003 Wamena case,” 6 May 2003, http://hampapua.org/skp/skp06/var-04i.pdf
Sekretariat untuk Keadilan dan Perdamaian, “They still intimidated, even in jail!” Jayapura, 5 June 2004, http://www.hampapua.org/skp/skp05/info04-2004e.pdf
TAPOL (via indonesia-act mailing list), “Papuan Prisoner dies in Prison in Makassar,” 4 September 2007, http://lists.topica.com/lists/[email protected]/read/message.html?sort=t&mid=812867179 Michael Heselo adalah seorang petani berumur 31 tahun dari desa Wouma yang berdekatan dengan kota Wamena, distrik Jayawijaya, pada saat ditangkap dan didakwa dengan tuduhan makar setelah pembobolan gudang senjata di KODIM Jayawijaya pada 4 April 2003.
Sebuah laporan dari LSM lokal menyatakan bahwa Heselo awalnya ditangkap di rumahnya pada 7 April, tiga hari setelah pembobolan. Ia kemudian dilepaskan dengan syarat wajib lapor ke polisi. Hari-hari berikutnya, pihak kepolisian menggeledah rumahnya ketika Ia sedang tidak berada di rumah, dan mengambil barang kepunyaannya, termasuk uang tunai senilai RP 350,000. Pihak kepolisian kemudian dilaporkan memaksa teman Heselo untuk menemani mereka pergi ke desa lain, tempat yang dikira menjadi tempat persembunyiannya. Heselo akhirnya menyerahkan diri pada polisi pada 21 April karena ketakutan setelah diburu oleh pihak kepolisian dan militer untuk sekian lama.
Koalisi LSM melaporkan bukti-bukti nyata terperinci bahwa Heselo telah mengalami penyiksaan. Penyiksaan ini mencakup tanda luka bakar di sekujur tubuhnya, bengkak di wajah dengan luka memar di sekitar kedua pelipisnya, dan rahangnya goyah akibat pukulan. Kedua kuku ibu jarinya dilepas, dua ibu jari kakinya dan jari telunjuk tangannya ditindih kaki meja, dan tulang kering kanannya ditendang dengan sepatu boot, yang semuanya itu mengakibatkan luka parah.
Laporan ini juga mencatat, walaupun Heselo merupakan satu-satunya tahanan dalam kasus ini yang diperbolehkan menemui pengacara, hari berikutnya pada 28 April, Ia mendadak dipindahkan dari Markas Kepolisian Papua di Jayapura dengan pesawat militer. Pemindahan ini dilakukan tanpa pemberitahuan maupun penjelasan pada tim kuasa hukumnya.
Sebuah laporan tanpa tanggal dari Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua (ALDP) melaporkan banyak tuduhan tidak wajar terjadi selama proses pengadilan. Ketidakwajaran ini meliputi ketiadaan penerjemah dan Jaksa Penuntut Umum hampir tidak mengatakan apa-apa sepanjang proses pengadilan karena tugasnya diambil alih oleh Majelis Hakim. Dilaporkan, Majelis Hakim tidak menghormati hak-hak terdakwa yang harusnya tetap diasumsikan tidak bersalah sampai ada pembuktian, dan memaksa para tahanan untuk menerima kronologis kejadian tersebut sesuai versi negara. Majelis Hakim juga berulang kali menyampaikan kalimat penuh prasangka mengenai penduduk lokal Wamena, misalnya “orang-orang di sana malas dan bodoh.” Heselo dinyatakan bersalah atas dakwaan tindakan makar (pasal 106 KUHP) dan konspirasi (pasal 110 KUHP) dan divonis 20 tahun penjara.
Terdapat sejumlah masalah mengenai perlakuan terhadap para tahanan kasus ini. Menurut salah satu anggota tim kuasa hukum mereka, Anum Siregar, pada 2004 saat berada dalam penjara Wamena, Murib dan para tahanan lain yang terkait kejadian pembobolan gudang senjata dilaporkan berkali-kali diintimidasi oleh intel dari KODIM dan Brimob, bahkan saat dalam penjara. Mereka juga disinyalir tidak mendapat akses ke balai penjara, tempat mereka seharusnya bisa bertemu dengan keluarga mereka atau berolahraga, karena pihak militer sedang menggunakan tempat itu untuk kepentingannya sendiri.
Laporan dari ALDP (2008) menggambarkan pemindahan paksa Heselo dari penjara Wamena, tempat pertama kali ia ditahan. Pada 15 Desember 2004, ia bersama-sama dengan delapan tahanan lain dibangunkan pada tengah malam, dipukuli hingga memar dan berdarah dan dipaksa masuk ke dalam kendaaraan polisi. Para tahanan tersebut dipindahkan ke penjara Gunung Sari di Makasar, Sulawesi, yang jauh dari keluarga mereka. Pemindahan mendadak ini tentu menimbulkan rasa takut mengenai keselamatan mereka pada waktu itu.
Pada 31 Agustus 2007, Heselo meninggal di Makassar setelah melewati sekitar satu bulan di rumah sakit Bayangkara. Pada waktu itu, TAPOL melaporkan bahwa saat mendengar Heselo telah meninggal karena sakit, para anggota keluarganya berniat menjenguknya di rumah sakit namun tidak mampu membayar tiket pesawat dari Papua ke Makassar. Kematiannya menyulut sejumlah protes di Jayapura, dan para demonstran meminta jenazah Heselo dikembalikan ke Papua, dan juga delapan tahanan Papua lain yang tersisa di Makassar—sebuah tuntutan yang digaungkan oleh keluarga dari pihak yang meninggal. Kedelapan tahanan merupakan tahanan politik yang didakwa dengan tuduhan makar, lima terkait dengan kasus ini, dan tiga lainnya terkait dengan kasus berbeda.
Sumber-sumber
Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua, “Mereka pulang mimpi,” 5 Februari 2008, http://andawat-papua.blogspot.com/2008/02/mereka-pulang-mimpi.html
Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua, “Peristiwa Pembobolan Gudang Senjata KODIM 1702 Jayawijaya, Wamena, 4 April 2003,” [tanpa tanggal], http://www.aldepe.com/2011/04/peristiwa-pembobolan-gudang-senjata_04.html
Koalisi LSM untuk perlindungan dan penegakkan Hak Asasi Manusia di Papua, Jayapura, “Laporan awal tentang kasus Wamena 4 April 2003,” 6 Mei 2003, http://hampapua.org/skp/skp06/var-04i.pdf
Sekretariat untuk Keadilan dan Perdamaian, “They still intimidated, even in jail!” Jayapura, 5 June 2004, http://www.hampapua.org/skp/skp05/info04-2004e.pdf
TAPOL (via indonesia-act mailing list), “Tahanan Papua meninggal dalam Penjara di Makassar,” 4 September 2007, http://lists.topica.com/lists/[email protected]/read/message.html?sort=t&mid=812867179