Police claimed suspected terrorist died of accidental wound
to his head, but human right commission rules different cause
An autopsy conducted
by Indonesia's national human right commission ruled Monday that a suspected
terrorist who died in the custody of the country's counter-terrorism squad
suffered blunt trauma to his chest.
Police had claimed that
Siyono -- many Indonesian's use just one name -- had died of an accidental
wound to his head March 9 after a scuffle with Detachment 88 members.
On Monday, Commissioner Siane
Indriani said that an autopsy by Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest
Islamic organization, had revealed that Siyono had died after a blunt
instrument was slammed into his chest cavity.
"That was the main
cause of death," said Indriani according to detik.com, adding that the
head wound had not been the cause.
She added that analysis
had suggested that Siyono had put up no resistance, contradicting claims that
he died in a fight with the squad.
Bruises on his body
suggested that he had been subject to violence while "asleep or leaning
against a wall," she said.
Siyono was arrested March
8 on suspicion of involvement with Jemaah Islamiyah arms factories at a mosque
near his home in Klaten, Central Java.
On March 9, police
traveled to his home and began to interrogate him as to where a storage bunker
holding the weapons was.
While being transported he
is reported to have got into a fight with Detachment 88 officers which resulted
in his death.
Police later said that
they had neglected to handcuff him, and escorted him with only two officers.
National Police
spokesperson Brigadier Gen. Anton Charliyan has claimed that Siyono held an
important position in Jemaah Islamiah, and that the movement was planning to
build forces to establish an Islamic State in Indonesia.
"This movement wants
to collect as many weapons as possible to build a strong army," Charliyan
was quoted as saying.
He has said that police
regretted his death because they had lost a key witness.
In January, Indonesia drew
up plans for tougher anti-terrorism laws after a militant attack on the capital
which left eight people -- including the four militants -- dead.
Daesh later claimed
responsibility.
Last week, Cabinet
Secretary Pramono Anung said that Siyono's death should not affect the planned
revisions, adding that a series of arrests of suspected terrorists since the
end of last year had proved that the reinforcements needed to be made.
File photo (Junaidi Hanafiah - Anadolu
Agency)
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