INDONESIA: Human Rights Watch report says Aceh province breaches human rights in enforcing sharia laws

Record ID: 1538752

  • Title: INDONESIA: Human Rights Watch report says Aceh province breaches human rights in enforcing sharia laws
  • Date: 2nd December 2010
  • Summary: JAKARTA, INDONESIA (DECEMBER 1, 2010) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR ASIA DIVISION OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, ELAINE PEARSON, SAYING: "We are also urging the central government, the President of Indonesia and ministries such as the ministry of law and human rights, home affairs and women's empowerment to petition the supreme court of Indonesia to review the compatibility of these laws with Indonesia's constitution."
  • Embargoed: 17th December 2010 11:23
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Indonesia, Indonesia
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACNYPDVGI6NLXU1YZY43L5PGPZ
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: A human rights group presented their report on Wednesday (December 1) which says that two Sharia laws implemented in Indonesia's Aceh province violate human rights.
    "We found that two of these local laws in Aceh contravene these basic rights. One of the laws requires all Muslims in Aceh to wear Islamic attire defined as clothing that covers the aurat, for men the area is from knee to navel, for women the entire body with exception of hands, feet and face. The clothing must not be transparent and should not reveal the shape of the body. The other law that we are concerned with is the law that prohibits Kalwat or seclusion, which is defined as two people of different sexes who are not married or not related who were together in an isolated place," said Elaine Pearson, deputy director of the Human Rights Watch group's Asia division, during the news conference in Jakarta.
    Aceh is the only Indonesian province to have implemented sharia or Islamic laws, though some other local governors have introduced sharia-inspired bylaws, and investors are watching for signs that growing Islamisation in the provinces could make the country less tolerant or even lead to violence.
    The 89-page report, "Policing Morality: Abuses in the application of Sharia in Aceh", cited research by the rights group between April to May this year which found that police, meant to uphold sharia law -- locally known as the Wilayatul Hisbah --had conducted virginity tests and committed rape.
    Members of the community are also permitted in certain circumstances by Aceh's local laws to identify, apprehend and punish suspected violators on their own initiative.
    The report detailed that in some cases, members arbitrarily determined that people were guilty of "seclusion," and assaulted the suspects, beating them severely or burning them with lit cigarettes while apprehending them. The community members were not held responsible for these offences, and instead those accused could face penalties which range from expulsion from the village or forced marriage, and even arbitrary fines determined by village leaders with no semblance of due process.
    The report also provided evidence that these laws were selectively enforced and are rarely applied to the wealthy or politically-connected individuals.
    "We are also urging the central government, the President of Indonesia and ministries such as the ministry of law and human rights, home affairs and women's empowerment to petition the supreme court of Indonesia to review the compatibility of these laws with Indonesia's constitution," Pearson added.
    An incident mentioned in the report was about a 19 year-old university student, Nita, who was accused of indecency and detained after being caught with her boyfriend riding on a motor bike through a coconut plantation, and was later raped by three sharia officers.
    A local court sentenced two of the three officers and the local sharia police chief was removed in July, but Nita still suffers from trauma and has not returned to school, the report said. It added that many victims were not coming forward due to the fear of stigma.
    Under the Aceh's Sharia laws, two unmarried adults of different sexes cannot be together in an isolated place. Penalties for violators include caning and, or fines of up to 10 million Rupiah (US$1,115).
    The report states that "Indonesia has an obligation to prevent the commission of vigilante enforcement of the sharia laws by private individual - and to protect people from the threat of further violence," and added that "At present, it is failing to satisfy this obligation."
    Jakarta has devolved more power to local authorities to increase their autonomy and speed up development.
    Some local governors, including the western part of the main island Java, are using that power to try to bring a more conservative form of Islam to the country's traditionally moderate Muslim majority population.
    Analysts say a more conservative Indonesia, currently an emerging market investor favorite, could be more suspicious of pro-market reforms and globalization.
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