Denpasar Police have come under criticism after they made a public display of 23 suspects of drug-related cases at Renon’s car free day on Sunday morning.
The suspects were made to stand behind a table of confiscated meth, marijuana and ecstasy in front of the Rumeksa Gardapati Statue as hordes of joggers, families and residents walked by.
According to Denpasar Police Chief Ruddi Setiawan, the move was intended to deter drug use, educate the community about the types of drugs on the street, and encourage residents to opt for a healthy lifestyle.
“On this occasion we wanted to educate and counsel the community about living healthily without drugs. We also wanted to socialize residents about the types of drugs because many people do not know what they are,” said Setiawan, as quoted by detiknews.
But the move has come under fire, especially since none of the 23 on show were convicted criminals. A group of Bali NGOs, including Bali Health Foundation (Yakeba), the Association of Drug Victims (IKON), and the Tough Women’s Inspiration for the Bali Medicines (Pertiwi), sent an open letter to the police, expressing their concerns.
“We are very appreciative of the performance of the police, especially the Denpasar Police in law enforcement related to drugs,” said Erijadi Sulaeman, the coordinator of the Bali Drug Rehabilitation Forum in Denpasar yesterday, as quoted by Kumparan.
“It’s just that, we feel deep concern about the situation on Sunday (24/2). And according to our monitoring, this has happened several times,” he continued.
In the letter, questions were raised about the legality and other issues regarding displaying suspects in such a way, and more importantly, whether the action in fact contravenes the concept of “innocent until proven guilty.”
Human rights activist, I Wayan Gendo Suardana was also among those to condemn the actions of the Denpasar Police.
“On the basis of the presumption of innocence, the suspect must be protected by his rights as an innocent person until there is a permanent court decision,” said Gendo, as quoted by Kumparan.
Denpasar Police Chief Ruddi Setiawan is yet to respond to the comments.
