On 16 April 2022, Indonesia’s Attorney General announced that they were preparing prosecution of a suspect allegedly responsible for unlawful killings in Paniai, Papua in 2014, under the ‘Human Rights Court’ mechanism (under Law No. 26/2000). This mechanism is the country’s special criminal tribunal dealing with cases of gross violations of human rights. If the case is brought before a special court under Law No. 26/2000, which is planned to be held in Makassar, South Sulawesi, the Paniai Case would be the first case tried at a Human Rights Court for 18 years. In this briefing, AJAR (Asia Justice and Rights), KontraS (the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence) and TAPOL, members of the Coalition of Civil Society for Monitoring of the 2014 Paniai Case which also consists of a number of human rights organizations in Papua, Indonesia and internationally, explain how Indonesia's Human Rights Court mechanism works and its past record.
Human Rights Court Mechanism and The 2014 Paniai Papua Case
31 August, 2022