October 8, 2025 | 12:24 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A total of 27 prisoners detained at the Jakarta Metro Police have formed a union after one prisoner was tortured in jail. They are now members of the Indonesian Political Prisoners' Union.
The union is chaired by Gejayan Memanggil (Gejayan Calling) activist Syahdan Husein, who was named a suspect for alleged incitement related to the August 2025 demonstrations. He has been detained since early September.
The prisoners wrote a letter marking the establishment of the union on October 4, 2025. The letter bears 27 signatures, including that of Syahdan as the chair. "We have officially formed a platform to fight, to bind in fraternity under the umbrella of the Indonesian Political Prisoners Union," reads the letter seen by Tempo on Tuesday, October 7, 2025.
The letter also mentioned that the Indonesian Political Prisoners Union aims to "absorb the aspirations of political prisoner members during the legal process" and to serve as an "authentic source of information regarding the conditions of the members during detention."
The members also invited political prisoners across Indonesia to join the union. "We invite all political prisoners who have been arrested and have not been released throughout Indonesia to join the Indonesian Political Prisoners Union," it said.
Torture of Political Prisoners
The union formation was formed against the backdrop of torture suffered by a prisoner, reported by another prisoner to the Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD). The group of lawyers has been assisting some of the prisoners.
"One of our clients admitted to receiving news from another prisoner about the strong likelihood of violence committed by people who are presumed to be the police," said public counsel from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) and TAUD representative Daniel Winarta, when contacted on Tuesday.
According to the victim's testimony, the torture occurred when the prisoner was temporarily taken out of jail for interrogation, which was conducted without a legal advisor present.
There were about seven police officers who intimidated the victim during the interrogation, according to the prisoner's account. The prisoner was kicked in the legs, hit in the chest, had eyes covered, and was electrocuted on both limbs.
The victim reportedly experienced shortness of breath and a split lip due to being hit. At the request of the victim and fellow prisoners, the victim was taken to the Medical and Health Division (Biddokkes) of the Jakarta Metro Police.
"They realized that they can't fight for their rights inside (detention center) alone, Daniel said, adding that the awareness to form a union emerged from the incident.
Tempo has requested confirmation from the Head of Public Relations of the Jakarta Metro Police, Brigadier General Ade Ary Syam Indradi, and the Head of the Public Relations Bureau, Police Grand Commissioner Adjutant Reonald Simanjuntak.
The Jakarta Metro Police named six suspects, including Syahdan, in early September 2025 on incitement charges during a series of protests on August 25 and 28, 2025. They were accused of inciting the masses to act violently during the protests.
The six suspects were charged under Article 160 of the Criminal Code and/or Article 45A paragraph 3 in conjunction with Article 28 paragraph 3 of Law Number 1 of 2024 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE Law) and/or Article 76H in conjunction with Article 15 in conjunction with Article 87 of Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection.
Since then, the Jakarta Metro Police have arrested hundreds of suspects related to the August riots. There are at least 232 suspects detained in the Jakarta Metro Police detention center, the latest count by the Chief of the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Indonesian National Police, Commissioner General Syahardiantono, as presented on Wednesday, September 24, 2025.
Hammam Izzuddin contributed to the writing of this article
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