Suspicion of a cover-up in Indonesia: Sexual harassment investigation against a senior police officer closed
Human rights organizations in West Sumatra are launching a struggle following the closure of the case with "puzzling excuses." The complainant, a police officer subordinate to the suspect, reported threats and heavy pressure to reach a compromise, even though the country's law absolutely prohibits mediation in sexual offenses.
Human rights organizations in Indonesia are warning of heavy pressure and attempts at a cover-up within the police ranks, after a criminal investigation against a senior officer, suspected of sexually harassing a police officer under his command, was terminated at an early stage. Human rights activists in the West Sumatra province and the local Legal Aid Institute, which is accompanying the complainant, strongly condemned the closure of the case at the preliminary inquiry stage and warned of serious failures in the examination of evidence.
According to a report on the local news site TribunPadang.com, the police officer's lawyer claimed that threats and attempts to coerce her client and her family members into reaching an out-of-court settlement were made. This step contradicts the law on the prevention of sexual violence in Indonesia, which explicitly prohibits mediation or compromise in crimes of this type.
'We strongly condemn the termination of the legal proceedings in this serious case. The attempts to push for a compromise go beyond the law,' the lawyer clarified, emphasizing the dramatic power imbalance between the parties, as the suspect serves as the direct supervisor of the complainant in the chain of command. In addition, it was claimed that the investigation was not conducted transparently and that key expert testimony was sidelined.
According to a report by the Kompas network, representatives of the Legal Aid organization clarified that the incident was reported in parallel both on the criminal level to the police and on the disciplinary level to the internal audit division of the regional police. Despite this, the criminal investigation was closed earlier than desired.
'We do not know on what basis it was determined that this is not a criminal offense. We see a process that is not objective or transparent,' the Legal Aid organization claimed, and demanded to reopen the investigation immediately to ensure a combination of justice and proper administration.
