Indonesia's Prisoners

IV. "DISAPPEARANCE" VICTIMS

Several people who "disappeared" earlier this year remain unaccounted for. They include Yani Avri, also known as "Rian," and Soni, both Indonesian Democratic Party (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia, PDI) activists who were accused of planting a bomb during the May 1997 election campaign. They were taken to the North Jakarta district military command (KODIM) where they were held overnight. The next day they were picked up in front of the KODIM and taken to the same place where two resurfaced disappearance victims, Pius Lustrilanang and Desmond Mahesa, were held. They were taken out of that building on March 12; their current whereabouts are unknown.

Suyat, a SMID activist and student from Solo, has been missing since February 12, 1998. According to Suyat's brother, five men who were not in uniform and showed no identification but said in response to a question that they were "officers" (petugas) came to the family's house in Gemolong, Sragen, Central Java at about 2:00 a.m. on February 12, looking for Suyat. The family said he was not at home, but the men entered anyway and began searching the house. When they could not find Suyat, according to an April 16 account in the Surabaya newspaper, Jawa Pos, the men took away his brother, Suyatno. After being interrogated in an unknown place, Suyatno told human rights workers that he was blindfolded and tied up and then brought to the house of one of Suyat's friends in Karanganyar, outside Solo, then to the house of another friend in Kalijambe, Sragen, where Suyat was staying. The five men took Suyat away and dropped off Suyatno on the outskirts of Sumber village. No one has seen or heard from Suyat since.

Herman Hendrawan, 28, went missing in March 1998 along with two others, Faizal Reza and Rahardjo Waluyo Djati, following their attendance at a press conference at the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute in Jakarta. His two friends are known to have returned to their homes after having been taken into custody, but Herman's family and friends claim to have had no word from him yet.

Petrus Bima Anugerah, known as Bimo, aged twenty-five, is a student at the Driyakara School of Philosophy in Jakarta and a member of the militant political organization, the People's Democratic Party (PRD). He has not been seen or heard from since March 31. His father officially reported him missing to the national police command on April 12.