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INDONESIA
CASE N° IDS/13 - TENGKU NASHIRUDDIN DAUD
Resolution adopted unanimously by the Governing Council
at its 173rd session (Geneva, 3 October 2003)


The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the outline of the case of Mr. Tengku Nashiruddin Daud of Indonesia, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/173/11(b)?R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 171st session (September 2002),

Recalling the following information on file:

  • according to the authorities, the police have identified rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) as suspects in the murder of Tengku Nashiruddin Daud in January 2000; according to information provided by the Minister of Justice and Human Rights in March 2002, this appears to be based on the testimony of Ibrahim Amd, a suspect in the case of the Jakarta Stock Exchange bombing who reportedly escaped either before or after being convicted; one of the suspects was allegedly shot dead by policemen in Aceh, while the police are still searching for the other three suspects who have fled, either to Aceh or to Penang (Malaysia); a key witness in this case, Abu Bakar Daud, disappeared after police interrogation and has not been located since;

  • according to the information provided by the Attorney General to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of the Judiciary on the occasion of his on-site mission to Indonesia in July 2002, the police had identified a suspect who was hospitalised; the investigation was pending;

  • the then newly appointed Chief of the National Police informed Parliament on 11 December 2001 about the investigation, which he undertook to make more effective; on 4 July 2002 and 16 January 2003, the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Law and Human Rights of the House of Representatives invited him to provide information about the stage reached in the investigation; at the meeting the Committee's President had on the occasion of the 108th IPU Conference (March 2003) with members of the Indonesian delegation, they stated that Parliament was monitoring the case but provided no details in that respect;

  1. Regrets that the Indonesian delegation to the 109th Assembly was unable to meet the Committee, particularly in view of the absence of any communication from the authorities, including the parliamentary authorities, on progress made in the investigation into Tengku Nashiruddin's murder;

  2. Notes that over three years have elapsed since the investigation into this crime was instituted without its yielding any tangible result; considers that the information provided about the investigation suggests a lack of any forceful effort by the police to establish the truth in this case;

  3. Recalls that impunity is a serious violation of human rights, encourages the repetition of crime, and undermines the rule of law and the confidence of citizens in the capacity of the State to fulfil its duty to dispense justice; stresses that impunity in the case of a murder of an MP is particularly grave as it impairs the institution of Parliament as such, and stands as a threat to all other members of Parliament and the society they represent as a whole;

  4. Emphasises once again that Parliament, as a guardian of human rights, has a crucial role to play in preventing impunity, all the more so when such impunity concerns the murder of one of its members; therefore once more calls on the Indonesian Parliament, in particular the two committees which are following the investigation, to avail itself of its oversight function to monitor the investigation effectively in this case so as to send a clear signal to the police authorities that it will not let this murder of one of its colleagues go unpunished;

  5. Wishes to ascertain the reply of the Chief of the Police to the requests for information addressed to him by the competent parliamentary committee in July 2002 and January 2003;

  6. Fails to understand why the authorities have so far not replied to its specific and repeated requests for information, namely:

       (i) as to the circumstances in which Ibrahim Amd testified that GAM rebels had abducted and killed Tengku Nashiruddin Daud, and the legal status of Ibrahim Amd with respect to the investigation in this case, in particular whether he remains at the disposal of the investigating authorities for further questioning;

       (ii) as to the outcome of the efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of key witness Abu Bakar Daud and the testimony he gave to the police;

       (iii) whether the police contemplate following a line of inquiry which would take account of Mr. Tengku Nashiruddin's role as vice-chairman of the parliamentary commission inquiring into human rights abuses while Aceh was a military operational zone, given that the lead it has so far followed has yielded no result and appears to be based mainly on a statement by a suspect in another criminal case;

  7. Once more invites the competent authorities to provide these details;

  8. Notes that, according to the Attorney General, a suspect was arrested and hospitalised; would be grateful to receive more details in this respect;

  9. Wishes to ascertain what steps Mr. Nashiruddin's political party, the United Development Party, has taken to ensure that the murder of one of its members does not go unpunished;

  10. Requests the Secretary General to convey this decision to the parliamentary and competent executive authorities, once again inviting them to provide the requested information; also requests the Secretary General to convey it to the competent national and international human rights bodies;

  11. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session to be held on the occasion of the 110th Assembly.

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