WRITTEN QUESTION E-2776/98

by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission

(14 September 1998)

Subject: The imprisonment of Petrus Hariyanto in Indonesia

Amnesty International has drawn attention to the Indonesian student Petrus Hariyanto who is serving an eight-year sentence in Cipinang prison in Indonesia because he was one of the co-founders of the political party PRD.

As far as is known, he has never been guilty of violence; nor has he ever propagated it.

Will the Commission ask the Indonesian authorities if this political detainee can be released, now that the government has adopted a more democratic stance?

Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission

(16 October 1998)

The Commission regularly calls on the Indonesian authorities to release all political prisoners in Indonesia and will continue to do so. So far, only a limited number of political prisoners have been released, with many still remaining in prison.

Petrus Hariyanto, one of the leaders of the political party PRD, was sentenced to eight years in jail in 1997 under the anti-subversion law. Although PRD is no longer a prohibited political party, Mr Hariyanto and the other imprisoned PRD leaders have not yet been released.

The Commission will continue to include Petrus Hariyanto among the list of political prisoners whose release is urged upon the Indonesian government.