The Jakarta Post, September 29, 2006
Police say family of executed man drops demand
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Kupang
The National Police said Thursday the family of Dominggus da Silva has dropped a
plan to exhume his body for an autopsy to determine whether he was tortured before
his execution last Friday.
The family of Dominggus da Silva, who was executed along with Fabianus Tibo and
Marinus Riwu in the Central Sulawesi capital city of Palu for inciting violence against
Muslims, sent an official letter to the police Wednesday about their plan to exhume
the body.
"I heard a report from East Nusa Tenggara Police that da Silva's family has canceled
the plan to exhume his body," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Paulus
Purwoko was quoted by Antara news agency as saying Thursday in Jakarta.
Da Silva was originally buried in Palu, Central Sulawesi, where the three men were
executed, after an autopsy was performed by local officials. His body was then
exhumed upon the request of his lawyers and church members. A wake was held at
the local Catholic church and the body was sent back to da Silva's hometown of
Maumere, the capital city of Sikka regency, West Nusa Tenggara, for burial.
Paulus said he was not aware of the reason why the family dropped the plan but
assumed it was because religious figures had convinced the family that da Silva was
not tortured before the execution.
"Even Bishop Yoseph Suwatan from Manado (North Sulawesi) has asserted that the
rumors that da Silva was tortured and stabbed are not true," he said.
Religious figures present at the execution have also stated that there were no signs of
torture, he said.
Bishop Melky Taroreh, who led a Mass at the penitentiary before taking da Silva
outside to face the firing squad also said a similar thing.
"Tibo even told his family not to harbor revenge after the execution," Paulus said.
However, a lawyer who represented all three executed men, Roy Rening, said
Thursday that the plan to bring the torture allegations to the International Court of
Justice, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other
international institutions had received the blessings of the Poso three two days before
the executions took place.
"We received an official mandate, signed by Tibo, da Silva and Riwu on Sept. 20,
2006, two days before the executions," Roy said.
With the mandate, he said there should be no reason for the government or the police
to block the family's plan to exhume da Silva's body for a second autopsy.
He deplored Sikka Police chief Sr. Comr. Endang Syafruddin for refusing to meet da
Silva's family when they came to deliver the letter to notify the police of the plan
Wednesday.
"If there's no response from Sikka Police by Saturday, the family has decided to
exhume the body on its own. The letter to the police was intended to notify the police
of the plan, not to request permission," Roy said.
He said that after the planned second autopsy was done, the Poso three's families
and lawyers would file a case with the International Court of Justice and report the
matter to other international institutions.
The International Court of Justice, however, does not accept reports and complaints
from individuals. It only considers legal disputes submitted by states.
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