Inside Indonesia: Incarceration In Indonesia
By Nikki Edwards
An examination of prisons and detention centres shows that Indonesia still has a long way to go in protecting human
rights.
The international media has long carried stories about the imprisonment of Schapelle Corby in Bali and of the Indonesian
children convicted of people smuggling and held in Australian gaols. But until the recent riot in Tanjung Gusta prison,
where inmates were being held in facilities stretched to almost double capacity, the stories of the thousands of
Indonesians who are locally imprisoned failed to make the headlines. This edition of Inside Indonesia begins to
investigate these people?s stories. The articles delve into the depths of Indonesia?s gaols, seeking to understand who
is incarcerated, under what conditions, and why.
Many argue that gaols are an integral part of the criminal justice process, and that imprisoning those who have
committed serious crimes is a vital element not only of retribution but of rehabilitation. But imprisonment can also
betray a state?s most inhumane behaviour. Those who are imprisoned become vulnerable, no longer able to clothe, house,
or feed themselves. The state is responsible for the protection of these individuals? rights, yet prison conditions are
often subject to only limited monitoring.
At the same time, the act of imprisonment itself can be highly contentious, for example, in cases involving political
criminals or refugees. Regardless of the conditions in which such inmates are kept, their very incarceration is
antithetical to human rights norms. On this indicator, Indonesian prisons have improved dramatically since the New
Order, when the detention of political prisoners was common. But, as the articles in this edition show, Indonesia still
has a long way to go before its gaols can be described as respecting human rights.
Overcrowded and corrupt
The inhabitants of Indonesia?s gaols are primarily convicted criminals. These people often come from the most
marginalised parts of society. Once incarcerated, in a country where the social services budget is never enough go
around, it is all too easy for those in gaol to bear the brunt of inadequate funding. Leopold Sudaryono sets the scene,
writing about Indonesia?s overflowing prisons and the failure of government reform initiatives to improve the situation.
His article calls for radical reform, contending that conditions are almost unbearable. Tim Mann?s article, by contrast,
shows how the situation is not so bad for everyone. In an article which weaves in stories of the rich and famous, Mann
contends that those with wealth often get off lightly, thus bringing into question the retributive function of prison.
Not all the stories about imprisonment of criminals included here are negative. Julie Chernov Hwang presents a close
study of the disengagement of a Posonese jihadi while in prison. She argues that prison time can provide the space to
disengage from terrorist ideology, although incarceration is just one of many possible factors that contribute to
disengagement. Josh Stenberg and Ad Akbar finish this first cluster of articles on an even brighter note, describing a
prisoner-organised theatre performance in a Bandung gaol. Their piece outlines how Indonesian?s love of singing and
performance is able to find expression even in gaol, where having a creative outlet helps prisoners manage their
emotions during their incarceration and reintegrate into society upon release.
Justice denied
While the conditions in which criminals are incarcerated is an important human rights issue, the imprisonment of
individuals who are not ?criminals? at all raises broader concerns about power and injustice. Over the years the
Indonesian government has imprisoned many people whose actions would not be considered criminal in other countries. This
category includes prisoners whose crimes can be described as ?political? and asylum seekers. Antje Missbach and Frieda
Sinanu describe the practice of imprisoning asylum seekers when they have committed no crime, and neither rehabilitation
nor retribution is sought. In an article which describes the appalling conditions in Indonesian detention centres, they
contend that the expansion of Indonesia?s immigration detention network is primarily driven by international demands
that the Indonesian government make transiting through the country more difficult.
While the detention of asylum seekers is increasing, there are now far fewer political prisoners that there were during
the Suharto era. Journalist Eko Maryadi describes his incarceration for violating press regulations, concluding with an
upbeat description of the improvement in press freedom since 1998 and the parallel rise of his own career.
This does not mean, however, that politically motivated incarceration has stopped. Yap Inyerop?s article traces the
stories of several Papuans who have been gaoled for their alleged support of West Papuan independence. Yap contends that
freedom of political expression continues to be tightly limited in Papua, with many Papuans both those who have
deliberately challenged Indonesian law and those who are accidentally caught up in the struggle still locked in gaols
for what can be described as political crimes.
Balancing the scales
Overall, the articles in this edition demonstrates that if incarceration is taken as microcosm for the assessment of
human rights protection, then Indonesia still has a long way to go. Certainly things have progressed significantly since
the Suharto era. Yet political prisoners still remain and as in other countries
throughout the world more and more asylum seekers are being held as if they were criminals.
Most of those who are imprisoned, regardless of the reason, are held in very poor conditions, except those who can use
the corrupt system to buy a better standard of living even behind bars. This injustice within the criminal justice
system needs to be addressed for there to be any possibility of prisons performing the rehabilitative function for which
they are so often justified.
Although the news of the North Sumatra gaol riot will soon fade from public memory, it is vital that both domestic and
international audiences keep a watchful eye on Indonesian gaols into the future, to encourage the development of greater
human rights protection in this area.
Nikki Edwards completed Honours in Indonesian Studies at the University of Sydney and is now a Juris Doctor candidate at
the University of New South Wales.
ENDS