Many Officials Suspected of Torture Perpetrators Go Unpunished in Indonesia

According to monitoring by the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), there were 66 incidents of torture by state officials during the period of June 2024-May 2025.

The state-sponsored torture referred to here is an act that fulfills the following three elements:

1. An act that causes suffering;
2. Intended to obtain a confession or as a form of punishment or discrimination;
3. Perpetrated by, or at the instigation or with the consent of, a public official or state apparatus.

During June 2024-May 2025, this torture was most frequently committed by members of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) (36 incidents), members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) (23 incidents), and correctional facility/prison officers (7 incidents).

"These 66 incidents of torture resulted in 139 victims. KontraS's monitoring recorded 23 deaths and 116 injuries," stated KontraS in its report (June 2025).

However, the majority of the alleged perpetrators were not prosecuted by the relevant agencies. "It is recorded that no action or sanctions were given to 38 alleged perpetrators of torture," said KontraS.

The following details the actions taken against the alleged perpetrator officials during the period of June 2024-May 2025:

• No action taken: 38 alleged perpetrators
• Investigation: 16 alleged perpetrators
• Detention: 9 alleged perpetrators
• Designation as suspect: 2 alleged perpetrators
• Dismissal: 1 alleged perpetrator

"The large number of torturing officials who have not been punished demonstrates a culture of impunity, namely the condoning of human rights violations and the failure of relevant institutions to sanction the perpetrators," said KontraS.

KontraS compiled this data from interviews with various state institutions involved in the Cooperation for the Prevention of Torture (KuPP), other relevant state institutions through the public information disclosure mechanism, mass media reports, and verified information from social media.