REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesian Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti would likely be summoned by the House of Representatives' Commission III overseeing legal affairs in connection with the custodial death of Siyono, a senior legislator stated.

"The House is currently in its recess period, but I will personally propose that the Working Committee on Law Enforcement of the House's Commission III should summon the police chief," Desmond Junaidi Mahesa noted here, Tuesday.

Speaking to Antara in response to a question on Siyono's death while in the custody of the Special Detachment (Densus) 88, he replied that the working committee would not only discuss the Siyoso case but also cover the anti-terror squad's budget.

"I hope my colleagues from other factions within the House's Commission III would also agree to summon the police chief," said Mahesa, deputy speaker of the House's Commission III.

He said, at the House's previous hearing with Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti, one of the topics discussed was related to a request for allocating additional budget for Densus 88.

In connection with Siyono's death, Mahesa strongly criticized the approach adopted by the police's anti-terror squad in handling those suspected of involvement in terror acts.

"The institution (Densus 88) has no longer been able to offer a sense of security to the people," he remarked, adding that the police chief needed to conduct introspection in response to the Siyono case.

Siyono, arrested by the anti-terror squad's personnel on March 9, 2016, was allegedly believed to be the leader of Jamaah Islamiyah in Klaten, Central Java, and was suspected of being involved in unlawful activities.

Following the incident, the House's Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon warned the squad's personnel to not ignore the principle of presumption of innocence while arresting any terror suspect.

Zon acknowledged that terrorism was a crime against humanity but emphasized the importance of avoiding any abuse of power, lest it leads to human rights violations.

Apart from the internal investigation being conducted by the National Police to determine who was responsible for Siyono's death, the Densus 88 unit has faced frequent criticism by the international media for its violent acts against suspected terrorists.

Three years before the latest Siyono case, The Guardian, an influential publication in the United Kingdom, had exposed the violent acts of Densus 88 against suspected terrorists.

In a news story titled, "Indonesia's US-Funded Anti-Terror Police Accused of Fueling Terrorism," The Guardian reported that Densus 88 had a tendency to terminate terror suspects rather than trying to capture them alive.

As a result of such tactics, it becomes difficult to end the cycle of violence, Haris Azhar, chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, was cited by The Guardian as stating that "it seems the police's brutality has contributed to the growth of terrorism in Indonesia."

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