Yapenas Murib was from Napua village near Wamena town, Jayawijaya district. Following an alleged raid on the Jayawijaya District Military Command weapons arsenal on 4 April 2003, Mr Murib became the target of military searches and was surrendered to military Special Forces (Komandan pasukan khusus, Kopassus) by the community on 10 April 2003. Eight other people were arrested and charged with treason in connection with the incident.
Four days later, on 14 April 2003, Mr Murib died in military detention. According to a report by a coalition of local NGOs, and a report by the Office for Justice and Peace (Sekratariat untuk Keadilan dan Perdamaian, SKP), several eyewitnesses reported seeing the following events.
On 14 April at 15:30 Yapenas Murib, Kanius Murib and another un-named detainee had their hands bound and were taken out of Wamena town by the military to perform a reconstruction relating to the events of 4 April. Yapenas Murib’s head had been shaved, and he was tied with ropes around his neck to the left, right and behind him, which the soldiers pulled in opposite directions as he tried to walk. He was ordered to run, then whilst running pulled sharply backwards. Whenever he fell he was kicked and ordered to stand. While Kanius Murib and the other detainee were left at Yilekma sub-village in Sinakma village, Yapenas Murib was taken as far as Yelekama sub-village in Napua village.
At 18:30 the military set off back to the Military Command with Mr Murib, arriving at 18:45. Their prisoner was given food and drink but was unable to swallow. At 19:00 he was brought to the Accident and Emergency Unit of Wamena’s hospital, but according to medical staff, Mr Murib was dead on arrival. They also noted that his legs were swollen and there was bruising on his side. Medical staff at the hospital confirmed that the body was then tightly guarded by soldiers until the family came to remove and bury it the following day. According to the family, when they received the body of Yapenas Murib there was bruising and rope marks around his neck and round blue bruises on his right side, suggesting he had been struck with a blunt instrument.
According to the doctors on duty, no autopsy was performed. The Military Command took custody of the medical certificate, which the investigating coalition was therefore unable to check. An article was printed on 16 April 2003 in a local newspaper stating that according to the medical certificate, Mr Murib had died of a respiratory disease. However, the doctor cited as having signed the certificate told the investigation team that this was not what he had written, as such a conclusion would be impossible to make without having performed an autopsy.
To date, we are not aware of any disciplinary procedures taken against the military staff members in whose custody Yapenas Murib was tortured and subsequently died, nor of any reparations made to the family.
Sources
Office for Justice and Peace of Jayapura, Imparsial Jakarta, Progressio Timor Leste, the Synod of the Christian Evangelical Church in Papua, and Franciscans International, “The practice of torture in Aceh and Papua 1998–2007,”Jayapura and Jakarta, November 2007, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/ngos/ShadowReportIndonesia40.pdf
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 Yapenas Murib berasal dari desa Napua yang berdekatan dengan kota Wamena, distrik Jayawijaya. Setelah tuduhan pembobolan gudang senjata di KODIM Jayawijaya pada 4 April 2003, Murib menjadi sasaran pencarian militer dan diserahkan pada Komando Pasukan Khusus (Kopassus) oleh masyarakat pada 10 April 2003. Delapan orang lainnya ditangkap dan didakwa dengan tuduhan makar terkait kejadian tersebut.
Empat hari kemudian, pada 4 April 2003, Murib meninggal dalam tahanan militer. Menurut sebuah laporan dari sebuah koalisi LSM lokal, dan laporan dari Sekretrariat untuk Keadilan dan Perdamaian (SKP) beberapa saksi mata melaporkan kejadian-kejadian berikut ini.
Pada 14 April, pukul 15:30, tangan Yapenas Murib, Kanius Murib dan tahanan lain yang tidak diketahui namanya diikat dan mereka dibawa keluar ke kota Wamena oleh pihak militer untuk menjalani rekonstruksi terkait dengan kejadian 4 April. Rambut Yapenas Murib dicukur, dan ia diikat dengan tali yang melilit lehernya ke sebelah kiri, kanan, dan belakangnya, sembari para tentara menariknya ke arah berlawanan saat ia mencoba untuk berjalan. Ia diperintahkan untuk lari, lantas ditarik ke belakang dengan keras saat mencoba lari ke depan. Kapanpun ia jatuh, ia ditendang dan diperintahkan untuk berdiri. Saat Kanius Murib dan tahanan lain ditinggalkan di kampung Yilekma di desa Sinakma, Yapenas Murib dibawa jauh ke kampung Yelekama di desa Napua.
Pada pukul 18:30, pihak militer kembali ke KODIM bersama Murib, dan tiba di sana pada pukul 18:45. Mereka memberi tahanan mereka makanan dan minuman namun para tahanan tidak mampu menelannya. Pada pukul 19:00, ia dibawa ke Unit Gawat Darurat di rumah sakit Wamena, namun menurut staf medis, Murib telah meninggal saat tiba di rumah sakit. Mereka juga mencatat bahwa kakinya bengkak dan terdapat luka memar di tubuhnya. Staf medis di rumah sakit tersebut menyatakan bahwa jenasahnya dijaga ketat oleh para tentara sampai keluarganya datang untuk membawa dan menguburkan keesokan harinya. Menurut keluarganya, saat mereka menerima jenasah Yapenas Murib, terdapat luka memar dan bekas-bekas tali di sekitar leher dan lebam biru di pinggang sebelah kanan, yang menimbulkan dugaan adanya bekas pemukulan dengan benda tumpul.
Menurut para dokter yang sedang bertugas pada waktu itu, otopsi terhadap mayat Murib tidak dilakukan. Pihak KODIM mengamankan sertifikat medis, yang menyebabkan koalisi investigasi tidak bisa memeriksanya. Sebuah artikel yang diterbitkan pada 16 April 2003 di sebuah koran lokal, menyatakan bahwa menurut sertifikat medis, Murib meninggal akibat penyakit pernapasan. Namun, dokter yang dikatakan telah menandatangani sertifikat tersebut menyatakan pada tim investigasi bahwa pernyataan itu bukanlah yang ia tulis karena kesimpulan semacam itu tidaklah mungkin didapat tanpa melakukan otopsi terlebih dahulu.
Sampai sekarang, kami belum pernah mendapati adanya sanksi disiplin terhadap anggota staf militer yang bertugas jaga pada saat Yapenas Murib disiksa dan meninggal, ataupun pampasan yang diberikan kepada keluarganya.
Sumber-sumber
Sekretariat untuk Keadilan dan Perdamaian Jayapura, Imparsial Jakarta, Progressio Timor Leste, Sinode Gereja Kristen Evangelis di Papua dan Fransiskan Internasional, “Praktek penyiksaan di Aceh dan Papua 1998–2007,”Jayapura dan Jakarta, November 2007, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/ngos/ShadowReportIndonesia40.pdf
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