Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman (L) reacts as the translator explains the judges’ verdict during the trial on April 2, 2015, in the case against him for sexually assaulting children at the Jakarta Intercultural School. Photo: AFP/BAYISMOYO
Many have questioned the guilty verdict given to Jakarta Intercultural School teachers Neil Bantleman and Ferdinant Tjiong at the conclusion of the infamous JIS sex abuse trial earlier this month.
Outside observers have noted numerous instances of alleged misconduct and bias in both police investigation and subsequent trial. The US Government, in a statement issued through its Jakarta Embassy, warned that the outcome of the case and its appeal “will have a significant impact on Indonesia’s reputation abroad.”
Bantleman and Tjiong, who were both sentenced to 10 years in prison, are currently working on their appeal. Bantleman, who hails from Canada, has also taken the step of writing an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper pleading for him and his government to “speak out” on his behalf.
Although Bantleman has written to the Canadian Government before, this new open letter accuses his government of being “painfully reticent in speaking out about this gross miscarriage of justice and abuse of human rights.”
He also writes, “I find it truly disheartening and troubling that as a Canadian citizen, my family and I have received more support and assurance regarding this matter from the US Embassy than from any Canadian government agency.”
Bantleman ends his letter by asking Harper and his administration to use all of their power to help him find justice. “You and your office are in a position to press Indonesian authorities, who have permitted this miscarriage of justice to play out, through economic and political means to ensure the vortex of corruption does not swallow another innocent soul.”
Full text of Neil Bantleman’s letter to Stephen Harper:
Dear Honorable Prime Minister Harper,
My name is Neil Bantleman, I am a Canadian citizen and I am an innocent victim of a corrupt legal system. I have been wrongfully convicted of a crime that I did not commit and sentenced to 10 years in an Indonesian prison on false allegations of child sexual abuse. The allegations are linked to a 125 million dollar lawsuit against the Jakarta Intercultural School where I work. As an upstanding Canadian citizen and educator, I am struggling to understand why the Canadian Government has been so painfully reticent in speaking out about this gross miscarriage of justice and abuse of human rights. This is simply a case of extortion.
I, along with my wife, family members, friends and concerned community members, have written to you and your office on several occasions over the last nine months requesting your assistance. During this time, I have been detained, tried, and convicted of a crime in which I took no part. This entire ordeal has caused great anguish for my family, and irreversible damage to my reputation and career. In previous correspondence with your office, I addressed issues of human rights violations, unethical police tactics, and unlawful detention. In addition, I have now fallen victim to an unfair and biased judiciary process. My guilt was assumed from the beginning, the entire defense was dismissed, and all evidence in support of my innocence was waived, raising serious questions as to how anyone could receive a fair trial or mount any kind of defense.
I fully understand the risk one takes when deciding to work and live overseas, and am willing to take full responsibility for my actions, but to be wrongfully accused and convicted of crimes that one did not commit is a threat to freedom and justice everywhere. Citizens, no matter where they live, should be afforded with basic liberties and assurances of freedom and protection under the law. I chose to work in an international school, with students from over 63 countries, that prides itself on helping children develop responsibility toward others and the world around us. The school supports hundreds of international companies by providing education to over 2400 students. Through my work at the school, I directly support and foster the education of children from around the world including Canadian and Indonesian citizens.
I realize the government cannot interfere in the legal proceedings of another country and I do not expect the government to make strong statements against the workings of any other country’s legal system. However, what I cannot understand is the unresponsiveness of the federal government with regards to my case. Not only is the public unaware of any interventions taken on my behalf, but my family and I have been afforded little peace of mind and direct communication from your office. I have requested, at the very least, that a government official personally reach out to my wife and my 80+ year old parents with some words of reassurance or comfort, yet no acknowledgement has been received to date. My brother was afforded one meeting with government officials in November 2014 and since that time has not been privy to any follow up meetings or correspondence initiated from a government office with any power to do anything. I find it truly disheartening and troubling that as a Canadian citizen, my family and I have received more support and assurance regarding this matter from the US Embassy than from any Canadian government agency.
I would hope that Canadian government officials, at the very least, closely examine the facts of this case, which have been provided by the Canadian Embassy in Jakarta, legal counsel, and also directly provided through my wife. In doing so, it would become evident that due process and the right to receive a fair trial have clearly been denied. Thus, calling the government into some further action other than simply monitoring a situation, which has consistently demonstrated a lack of transparency, fairness and basic legal provisions.
I would expect that the government of my home country would support an innocent citizen no matter where they reside or work. If the government is truly for the people by the people and it’s purpose is to represent and uphold principles of democracy and human rights, then I wonder why the government remains silent. The government currently supports many causes throughout the world insuring these principles are upheld yet remain on the sidelines when one of their own citizens has these very principles violated. I have been told that the job of the embassy is not to determine someone’s innocence or guilt, but what happens when a citizen has so obviously been framed for a heinous crime they most certainly did not commit?
My wife Tracy and I are proud Canadian citizens who have acted with integrity and respect throughout this entire ordeal. We have represented our families and fellow countrymen in the international community with dignity and grace. It is our hope that the government would take action to ensure that their own citizens are protected, or at the very least, their family shown some level of support when obvious human rights violations have occurred. If this request asks too much then I fear for all citizens working and living abroad. If Canada is a signatory of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, it becomes their obligation to uphold and act to protect this charter. If they will not do so for a citizen of their own nation then who will they act for?
Please do not let me languish in an Indonesian jail for a crime that I did not commit. You and your office are in a position to press Indonesian authorities, who have permitted this miscarriage of justice to play out, through economic and political means to ensure the vortex of corruption does not swallow another innocent soul.
Prime Minister Harper, I am pleading with you to speak out on my behalf.
Respectfully, Neil Bantleman
