Imparsial Calls for TNI Members Suspected of Shooting Civilians to Be Tried in General Court

January 5, 2025 | 10:22 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Imparsial Director Ardi Manto Putra demanded that the legal process against the Indonesian TNI Navy members suspected of being involved in the shooting at KM 45 of the Tangerang-Merak Toll Road be transparent. This transparency can only occur if the trial process is held in a civilian court. "This is to ensure that nothing is covered up. Because in military courts it tends to be closed," said Ardi in a written statement, Saturday, January 4, 2024.

Ardi said that crimes by TNI members against civilians have often occurred. This fact should be a serious concern so that the military institution immediately improves itself. There must be a systematic solution to prevent military violence against civilians. The TNI leadership must not stop at the stage of taking action against violence committed by soldiers.

"The TNI leadership must also touch on systemic changes by resolving the root of the problem, namely the culture of violence against civilians and the culture of impunity within the TNI," he said.

The practice of impunity, said Ardi, was evident from the handling of the killing of civilians by dozens of TNI soldiers in Deli Serdang in November 2024. The legal process for this case is still unclear. "This further proves that military justice reform must be carried out immediately," he said.

Ardi said it was time for TNI members involved in general crimes to be tried in the general justice system. General justice would be more open and minimize command intervention. "If it is not like that, yes, violence by TNI members against civilians will continue to occur," he said.

In the case of the shooting at KM 45 of the Tangerang-Merak Toll Road, one of the four perpetrators is suspected to be a member of the Indonesian Navy. Commander of the Military Police Center Major General Yusri Nuryanto stated that he had detained the soldier at the Indonesian Navy Military Police Center.

TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto also confirmed that one of the alleged perpetrators was a member of the Indonesian Navy. Agus said his agency would take firm action against the TNI soldier suspected of being the perpetrator of the shooting.

Throughout 2024, Imparsial noted that there were eight cases of shootings carried out by TNI members against civilians. As for cases of violence by soldiers against civilians, based on KontraS records, there were 64 incidents.

"These incidents include various forms of violence, which resulted in many injuries and even deaths," said KontraS Working Body Coordinator, Dimas Bagus Arya, in a press conference, Sunday, October 6, 2024.

Of the 64 cases, 37 were cases of abuse, 11 torture, 9 intimidation, 5 inhumane acts, 3 vandalism, 1 kidnapping, and 1 sexual crime. Of these cases, 75 people were injured and 18 people died.

The shooting incident at KM 45 of the Tangerang-Merak Toll Road occurred on January 2, 2025. The victim who died in the incident was named Ilyas Abdul Rahman, 48 years old, a resident of Taman Rajeg, Tangerang Regency, Banten.

Head of Public Relations of the Tangerang Police, Police Inspector Dua Purbawa, said that there were two victims who were shot, apart from Ilyas and the other victim was Ramli Abu Bakar. Ramli suffered injuries and has received medical treatment.

The incident began on January 1 2025. Ilyas and his two children were looking for an orange Honda Brio car that he rented. The search was carried out because one of the two GPS installed in the car had died. "The victim suspected something was wrong. According to the GPS signal, the car was in the Cinangka Anyer area," said Purbawa, January 2, 2025.

The victim detected the Honda Brio in front of the Indomaret Rest Area KM 45, Tangerang-Merak B Toll Road at 04:20 WIB. The victim, who was driving a white Mitsubishi Xpander, immediately stopped behind the car, then got out and approached the perpetrator. "However, when approached, the Brio driver took out a gun," said Purbawa.

In addition to the perpetrator driving the Honda Brio, there were two of the perpetrator's friends in another car. It turned out that the victim's rented car had changed hands.

The perpetrator in the other car took out a firearm and fired into the air. The perpetrators got out of the car and shot Ilyas in the chest, and his friend who suffered a gunshot wound in the back that penetrated to the left hand.

After that, the perpetrators fled by driving a Honda Brio and a Daihatsu Calya towards Jakarta. At 04:30 WIB, the two victims were rushed to Balaraja Regional Hospital. However, Ilyas' life could not be saved.

Editor’s Choice: Indonesia's TNI Deploys 58,000 Soldiers to Secure Christmas and New Year Holidays

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News

Police Investigate Motive for Shooting of Lawyer in Bone

1 jam lalu

Tangerang Rest Area Shooting Kills One, Police Hunt Four Suspects

1 hari lalu

New Year's Day Shooting Incident in New York City, NYPD Says 10 Injured

2 hari lalu

At least 10 Dead After Truck Crashes into New Orleans Crowd, City Agency Says

3 hari lalu

Central Java Police Deny Shooting PSIS Semarang Supporters

8 hari lalu

Indonesia's TNI Deploys 58,000 Soldiers to Secure Christmas and New Year Holidays

11 hari lalu

Police to Deploy 141,605 Joint Personnel for Christmas and New Year Holiday

15 hari lalu

DPR to Evaluate Police Use of Firearms Following Recent Shootings

18 hari lalu

KAI Claims Securing Over Rp1tn in State Assets via Land, Building Management

19 hari lalu

Pros and Cons of the TNI Commander's Decision to Reassign 300 High-Ranking Officers

24 hari lalu