Families slam Indonesia’s acquittal over Papua army killings of four students
- Relatives called for the case to be reopened after court acquitted a retired officer for his role in shooting 4 high-school students during protests in Paniai
- An earlier human rights commission found soldiers and their superiors were to blame for the deaths of the students, aged 17 and 18, and wounding 21 other Papuans
The acquittal by an Indonesian human rights court of a retired army officer from charges over the killing of four Papuan teens in 2014 was a sign of impunity, a representative of the families said.
The families called for the case to be reopened after a human rights court in Makassar, in South Sulawesi province, acquitted Isak Settu on Thursday from charges of “crimes against humanity”.
An earlier Indonesian human rights commission found that the military had shot the four high-school students during protests in Paniai, a central area of Papua province where a long-simmering insurgency has often flared into violence.
“We, the victims’ families and witnesses, see that the country commits impunity, and protects the perpetrators of the case of gross human rights violations in Paniai,” Yones Douw, who represents the victims’ families, said late on Friday.
Settu faced 10 years in jail over his alleged role in the incident, when Indonesian security forces opened fire on a crowd protesting against the beatings of Papuan youths by the army.
The earlier human rights commission found that rank-and-file soldiers and their superiors were to blame for the deaths of the students, aged 17 and 18, as well as wounding another 21 demonstrating Papuans.