Indonesian military informs about torture at press conference on March 25
AFP news agency reported on March 25 that the Indonesian military has arrested 13 soldiers accused of torturing a Papuan man, after a widely shared video showed the victim being beaten by a group of men, some of whom were wearing military uniforms.
A video that has gone viral on Indonesian social media in recent days shows several people assaulting a man who was tied to a steel barrel filled with water.
Another video shows the man shaking in a barrel while being slashed in the back with a combat knife by a man in military uniform.
At a press conference on March 25, Indonesian military spokesman Kristomei Sianturi said the military had opened an investigation into the incident and arrested 13 soldiers out of more than 40 people being questioned.
"Of those 42 soldiers, there are indications that 13 soldiers committed acts of violence," the spokesman said, adding that those 13 soldiers would soon be considered suspects.
The attack is believed to have taken place last month, but the videos only went viral last week. The eastern part of Indonesia is the site of a decades-long separatist insurgency.
Izak Pangemanan, a senior Indonesian military official in Papua province, apologized for the incident and said the actions of the alleged perpetrators had "tarnished efforts to resolve conflicts in Papua".
"I apologize to all Papuans. And we will continue to work to ensure that these types of events do not happen again in the future," he said.
Military officials said the man in the video was accused of planning to burn down a clinic and being a member of an armed criminal group, a term the Indonesian military often uses to describe insurgent groups in Papua province.
Papua's main rebel group has claimed responsibility for attacks on soldiers and civilians in recent years.
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