Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Human rights lawyer threatened over Wamena murder case, says Amnesty

Posted at 08:21 on 25 September, 2012 UTC

Amnesty International says a human rights lawyer has been threatened for legally representing a group of men accused of murder in Indonesia’s Papua province.

There are concerns for the safety of the lawyer, Olga Hamadi, who has been investigating allegations that police in Jayawijaya District assaulted and tortured five men accused of a murder last month in Wamena in an attempt to force a confession.

Approaching the trial, Ms Hamadi was allegedly subject to a series of intimidations including from police investigators.

Last week, during the pre-trial hearing, she was blocked from entering the Wamena District Court by an angry crowd including family members of the victim.

They threatened to beat Ms Hamadi and pressured her to withdraw the pre-trial application.

She was then taken to the Jayawijaya police station by police.

When she wanted to return to the court, she was again blocked by a crowd of people outside the police station.

Police officers did not take any steps to assist her.

Due to concerns about her safety, she has withdrawn the pre-trial application.