Protesters voting with their feet
Shoes mock Indonesian police treatment of boy
JAKARTA, INDONESIA— More flimsy, worn-out sandals piled up around Indonesia on Wednesday as part of a protest campaign against the trial of a 15-year-old boy a police officer has taken to court, accusing him of stealing his old footwear.
The second hearing in the trial began at 10 a.m. Wednesday, with dozens of students and activists gathering outside the courtroom in Palu on the island of Sulawesi, to call for the release of the suspect, who was identified only as A.A.L.
Meanwhile, protesters continued dropping off their used flip-flops at the offices of the National Commission for Child Protection, a public agency that organized the collection, as well as at police stations and prosecutors’ offices.
The sandal campaign has grabbed headlines and become a favourite topic on social networking sites since it began Dec. 29. Organizers said the initial aim was to collect 1,000 pairs of sandals in mock protest of the officer who made the allegations. But by Wednesday more than 1,200 pairs of shoes had been collected. Muhammad Ikhsan, secretary at the National Commission for Child Protection, said the protest was an effort to improve the legal process so children are not made into criminals in cases of petty crime. He said the agency planned to deliver the sandals to the officer, adding if the officer felt wronged by having his shoes taken, the public would give him more in return. The boy is accused of taking the officer’s shoes from outside a police boarding house in Palu as he walked home from school with friends in November 2010. Six months later, Sgt. Ahmad Rusdi Harahap accused the boy of theft, and the boy was interrogated and badly beaten, said Ikhsan, who has been documenting the case. He said the boy’s parents filed a complaint after discovering bruises on the boy’s body. The officer’s suit followed the complaint. Harahap, a member of the Central Sulawesi Police Mobile Brigade, could face disciplinary action following a police tribunal, said a National Police spokesman. And Brig. Jhon Samson, accused of having a role in the beating, has been prevented from seeking a promotion for a year. But activists say the public indignation at the case is a sign that people are fed up with abuses of power by the police. “This is another example of police unprofessionalism,” said Indria Fernida, a deputy coordinator with the human rights group Kontras. She said that too often the police and prosecutors focus on petty crimes while avoiding cases that involve those in power and authority. If the boy is found guilty in the stolen sandal case, he could face up to five years in prison — a greater sentence than that meted out in the past to convicted terrorists and major corruption convicts.