Paniai Shootings; Setara Institute Calls for Human Rights Court

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Setara Institute demanded President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo establish a human rights court in regards to the Paniai shootings in Papua, following in the firm stand by the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM). 

The human rights group also arbitrarily deemed the incident a major human rights violation, and that Komnas HAM’s report was a product of law enforcement and must be followed up by the Attorney General’s Office. 

“Corresponding to Law No.26/2000, the Attorney General’s Office must conduct an investigation parallel to [the report]. President Jokowi must establish a court of human rights,” said Setara Institute chairperson Hendardi in a written statement on Tuesday, February 18.

The conclusion of the Komnas HAM plenary was based on an investigation by an ad hoc team that looked into the Paniai shootings based on Law No.26/2000 regarding human rights court. The team had worked on the case since 2015 and ended in 2020.

According to Hendardi, the Paniai incident needs to be solved through a fair trial which would test President Jokowi in solving human rights violations under his administration.

This case also denies the statement of Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Mahfud Md, suggesting that there is no major human rights violation during Jokowi administration.

FIKRI ARIGI