Indonesia's Special Counter-Terrorism Squad Has an Accountability Problem

The death of another suspected terrorist detained by Indonesia's anti-terrorism police is raising fresh concerns over an apparent lack of oversight over a shadowy division of the National Police.

The anti-terrorism squad (Densus 88) allegedly detained a 31-year-old kebab seller named Muhamad Jefri earlier this month during a raid in Indramayu, West Java. The man, who also went by the name Abu Umar, was accused) of being a member of Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD)—a militant group allegedly involved in several bomb plots, including two recent attacks in Jakarta and another on a police station in Botoala, South Sulawesi that left two officers wounded.

Jefri was previously arrested by Densus 88 in Feb. of 2016, but released after investigators were unable to uncover enough evidence to tie him to a crime. This time, Densus 88 claimed that Jefri was hiding another wanted terrorist and had prior knowledge of the 2016 Sarinah attacks.

But he didn't last long in detention. By 7 Feb., mere hours after his arrest, Jefri was dead. The official account goes as follows: Jefri was taking Densus 88 officers to a location where several JAD members were in hiding. On the way, Jefri allegedly complained of shortness of breath. He was taken to the nearest clinic, where he was quickly pronounced dead.

"The cause of death was a heart attack," Insp. Gen. Setyo Wasisto, the head of the public relations division at the National Police, told local media. "He had a history of chronic heart disease."

A team of doctors conducted an autopsy at the Said Sukanto Police Hospital, in Jakarta, and determined that, from their assessment, Jefri suffered a fatal heart attack. The doctors said that they could find no signs of abuse that could have caused his death.

The National Police's own internal affairs division then held a press conference declaring that the arresting Densus 88 officers had complied to all codes of conduct and had done nothing wrong.

But human rights groups remained unconvinced. Why, for example, wasn't an autopsy conducted by a team of independent doctors instead of ones who worked in a police hospital? And why was Jefri picked up in the first place if Densus 88 didn't have a warrant for his arrest, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) asked in a press release.

"We think that there is still a lack of clarity from the police and some potential defects in the counterterrorism operations of Densus 88," Yati Andriyani, a coordinator at KontraS, told VICE. "In this case, it wasn't explained how they handled the alleged terrorists or the other suspects while they were under their control."

Why so much suspicion of the official story? Because it's not the first time a suspected terrorist has died—or been subjected to horrendous torture—after being picked up by Densus 88.

The anti-terrorism squad has a remarkable success record when it comes to combating domestic terrorism in Indonesia. Their efficiency at dismantling national and regional terrorism networks is one of the big reasons why Indonesia hasn't had a large-scale terrorist attack since the mid-2000s.

But their campaigns have also proven to be incredibly deadly for the suspects in their sights. Between 2003—the year Densus 88 was formed—and 2016 at least 96 suspects died in raids or later after being detained by the task force. Each time, the authorities failed to offer clear explanations of the reasons behind the deaths, according to rights groups.

In 2016, a man was found dead, his body badly beaten, after being mistakenly picked up and then released during an anti-terrorism sweep in Klaten, Central Java. He suffered five broken ribs and showed signs of torture, according to reports compiled by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

Seven Densus 88 officers were put on an ethics trial, the outcome of which remains unclear to this day.

The reason why there is so little pressure to address these issues is that, according to rights groups and numerous reports in the press, allegations of torture and abuse by Indonesian authorities are shockingly common.

"The practice of torture doesn't only occur during counter-terrorism operations, but also in other criminal cases as well," said Rafendi Djamin, the executive director of the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG). "In terrorism cases, the monitoring mechanism and operating procedures must be transparent."

One root cause of this lack of transparency is the fact that the police themselves, and their own forensics teams, are often tasked with investigating allegations of abuse and misconduct, Rafendi said.

"The problem is that the police have the authority to process their own forensic evidence," he told VICE. "It's common for these cases to not solve themselves peacefully. But even the UN has demanded an independent forensic authority in at least one jurisdictional area of our police force."

Komnas HAM told VICE that they were still reviewing the case and would hold off on making any comments until after their investigation concluded. Amiruddin Al Rahab, a commissioner at Komnas HAM, told our reporter that he promised to hold Densus 88 accountable for any potential human rights violations.

But an anti-terrorism expert told VICE that the entire way of combating violent extremism needs to be rethought. The current method, of fighting force with force, only creates new problems in its wake, Al Chaeder told VICE.

“Violence is not productive at all," he said. "The police are still repressive and I think this should be evaluated because it will only cause more terror attacks in the future."