My Own Legal Action Options
I would very much like to file both criminal complaints and commence civil actions against Budi Setywan , Jack Daniels, Made Pastika, Tri Kuncoro, Bert Vierstra and Roy Thompson in Bali but can not. The reasons for this are;
a) I can not file criminal complaints against them because unlike with other countries, where you can file such complaints with their embassies overseas, Indonesian criminal law requires the complainant to file complaints at a police station on the island itself. If I went to Bali to do this, I would be arrested and likely shot.
b) Although I can file civil cases against these people in Bali through a lawyer there, without being able to attend I would not be able to respond to any claim made by these people in court, and also there is not a single recorded case of anyone successfully suing a police officer in Indonesia, such is the well documented nepotism, collusion and corruption between police, prosecutors and judges.
Criminal Libel
The only official Balinese police investigation into me is for alleged criminal libel against Jack Daniels of Bali Discovery Tours. Both civil and criminal libel exists in Indonesia. Libel was criminalised by the Suharto regime in order to protect the influential from the less well connected. Basically, it is a criminal offense in Indonesia to say or write anything bad / defamatory about someone else without their permission! Even though Suharto has gone, the powerful (politicians, judges, army, police, businessmen and so down) protect any wrong doing they commit with this law. In my case, because I did not ask Jack Daniels permission to publish what he did to me in 2002, he was able to file a criminal libel complaint in Bali against me in 2003.
There is even further criminal code (Section 207) preventing anyone from saying anything bad (no matter how true) against the police in Indonesia. In 2006 two pop musicians were arrested and jailed in Bali for singing a song containing the lyrics "Anjing! Kukira Preman Anjing! Ternyata Polis" which has two possible meanings; 1) "Dog! I thought you were a gangster. But dog! You were actually the police.", and 2) Damn! I thought you were a criminal. But damn! You were actually the police.". So much for Indonesia's accession to International Human Rights and guarantees of Freedom of Speach, even when the musician's "offence" was only implied! So understand how much the Balinese police want to get me for not just calling them "mafia" (and "dogs"), but also for naming their beloved chiefs in documented cases of corruption and human rights abuse!
There is even further criminal code (Section 207) preventing anyone from saying anything bad (no matter how true) against the police in Indonesia. In 2006 two pop musicians were arrested and jailed in Bali for singing a song containing the lyrics "Anjing! Kukira Preman Anjing! Ternyata Polis" which has two possible meanings; 1) "Dog! I thought you were a gangster. But dog! You were actually the police.", and 2) Damn! I thought you were a criminal. But damn! You were actually the police.". So much for Indonesia's accession to International Human Rights and guarantees of Freedom of Speach, even when the musician's "offence" was only implied! So understand how much the Balinese police want to get me for not just calling them "mafia" (and "dogs"), but also for naming their beloved chiefs in documented cases of corruption and human rights abuse!
However, Indonesian criminal libel is limited by its national boundaries, its jurisdiction. It is a documented and well known fact I published what I did about Daniels in Thailand; outside Indonesian jurisdiction. Therefore, because Jack Daniels knew I published my 2002 account of his previous unlawful acts against me outside Indonesian territory, he committed an act of criminal libel (with the police) against me and perjury (submitting falsified complaints and evidence). The Balinese police also knowing this (have been duly informed on multiple occasions) also committed further unlawful and illegal acts by progressing his complaint into and thereafter maintaining (an) investigation(s) against me. Of course I can not currently file my own criminal complaints in Bali against them because of this.
Civil Libel
Civil libel is the damages / compensation form of legal action resulting from published defamation. As I could not travel to Bali to sue Jack Daniels there, I sued him and his hosting company in Arizona, USA, where his web site is legally physically located (on a web server there) and where his hosting company operates. You can read about the case here: Jack Daniels Bali. Instead of counter-suing me for the alleged libel I committed against him (which he could not, as it was not libel in the civil sense), so I could then have my lawyer in Bali file the US court ruling with the police and courts in Bali and force them to drip the criminal libel case against me, American citizen Jack Daniels fought the action on the basis the US had no jurisdiction over him. Regrettably my lawyer missed a filing date by two days, so Daniels won on a technicality. I hoped this case in the USA could be the beginning of the end of it, not least for the Balinese who suffer economically from the fall out of the ongoing bad publicity; I had hoped Daniels would face off with me in his own country.
Striking Out Police Investigations
Indonesia has a legal process for "forcing" their police to stop conducting an unlawful investigation, such as the ones against me. You or your lawyer basically write 3 times to the police setting out your case and the reason for claiming the investigation(s) is / are unlawful. Under Indonesian law the police must then either a) give good legal cause for continuance, b) deny the investigations exist, or c) strike the investigation out and confirm this has been done in writing back to you. However, in practice this does not work, as the police only have to ignore what you do and your only recourse then is to file a civil case of "legal taut" against the police. This of course brings you back to the same problem of needing to attend court to stand any chance of success, plus the fact no Indonesian court has ever ruled in anyone's favour against the police thanks to rampant nepotism, collusion and corruption.
3 Year Statute of Limitations
Like the USA, Indonesia has a statute of limitations on crimes, in Indonesia's case it is just 3 years. That is, any crime you commit in Indonesia, if you are not investigated for it within 3 years, you get off Scott free. This statute is why many people accused of heinous crimes in Indonesia go unpunished; the state has simply to ignore their crime for 3 years. Similarly, the police or other law enforcement body must bring any such criminal investigation to the courts within a further 3 years of commencing it.
Like the USA, Indonesia has a statute of limitations on crimes, in Indonesia's case it is just 3 years. That is, any crime you commit in Indonesia, if you are not investigated for it within 3 years, you get off Scott free. This statute is why many people accused of heinous crimes in Indonesia go unpunished; the state has simply to ignore their crime for 3 years. Similarly, the police or other law enforcement body must bring any such criminal investigation to the courts within a further 3 years of commencing it.
In reality, the Indonesian Statute of Limitations is only there to give impunity to the well connected. People like me, who had a criminal investigation for criminal libel commenced against me in 2003, should have seen that investigation dropped in 2006, especially when it was challenged. Extreme interpretations and corruption of the law by the police and judiciary mean they can claim my alleged libel is ongoing, as it involved the printed / published word, so the 3 Year Statute of Limitations is not up yet! Which is akin to saying the people of East Timor murdered by the Indonesian army, that the hurt and cause of this on their family is ongoing, so the Statute of Limitations is not up yet for the TNI officers who murdered civilians; but of course it is.
Unlawfully Served Summons
The Indonesian police are well documented at being adept at serving summons unlawfully (such as serving the summons with a collaborating village elder, so the victim does not know about it); so the persons they are after have no hope or even idea of complying and thereafter can be arrested (see 60/90 day arrest law below). Take my case, in 2004 after an unlawful "hidden" police complaint (the one filed by Daniels against me in 2003 which was unlawfully kept in the chief police investigator's draw until they could get me, to circumvent the Statute of Limitations) was exposed, the then police issued a summons against me which they knew I could and would not attend;
The fact this police investigation was unlawfully conducted, kept in a drawer until they could get me, "remain sealed and with the police until Mr. Austin personally presents himself to the police" as Jack Daniels predicted a month before the complaint was made (see John Millard Daniels blog page) is graphically shown proven here: look at near the top of the summons, DASAR 3 states the date of the complaint / investigation commencing was July 1st 2003 and yet the summons was not issued until February 1st 2004.
The police of course knew I would not attend because of the circumstances, as it cited legal code for spying and the death penalty, plus I was not Indonesia; I was hardly likely or able to arrange and pay for my own flight to certain human rights abuse at such short notice! Now, let me be clear about the last aspect of this; my not being in Indonesia and why this is yet another documented case of the police acting unlawfully against me.
International conventions and precedences do not allow the police force of any one country to serve a summons against anyone who is not a citizen or resident of that country if that person is not in that police force's country at the time of the summons. As I am not a citizen or resident of Indonesia, they should not have done this, it is unlawful. The correct procedure for the Balinese police would have been either;
a) To commence extradition proceedings against me. If they believed I had committed a serious criminal act, Indonesia would have been able to extradite me from where I was then living (Thailand). The trouble is of course, it was such a nasty BS investigation, they would not have been able to extradite me.
b) To request assistance from the police of the country I was in, to question me to determine if certain evidence was true and / or if a prosecution should commence. Again, BS unlawful investigations like the one against me prevented the Balinese police from doing this either.
Indonesian 60/90 day arrest law
This is where the police get people and would get me. Because they claim I did not attend a lawful summons, they have the automatic right to arrest and detain me for up to 60 days, plus another 30 days with an easily obtained court extensions. So to go to Bali to both clear my name and file my own law suits and criminal complaints against hose who act against me would cost me 90 days in jail or worse. I say worse as it has been made clear to me the Balinese police want me dead; Officer Tri Kuncoro had been harassing my friends in Bali with unlawful (not real) summons and told one, if I ever came to Bali I would be arrested and then shot in the back as I tried to escape. Bear in mind the UN special envoy on torture stated in his 2007-8 report that the Balinese police routinely rape, beat and even shoot detainees; how's that for a Balinese paradise?
Interpol Abuse
As a consequence of the west's so called "war on terror", pariah nations have been "allowed" to abuse Interpol. In return for data on real terrorists coming out from places like Indonesia, the Indonesian police have been given greater access to Interpol's facilities. As a result, the Balinese police were able to file a totally false regional Interpol watch order against me, citing I was suspected of being a spy or terrorist, providing the above summons and my non compliance as substantiation. My movements and whereabouts then were reported back by Thai and other nations' immigration and other law enforcement agencies to the Balinese police. This data, my home address, was then abused in order to try and have me murdered by local gangsters I am sure were paid for by Jack Daniels.
Some of the nasty anti-Mark circle of friends in Bali claim there was no Interpol watch order against me, that I made it all up. Here is an excerpt from a letter from my lawyer in Jakarta citing the Interpol file on me. This letter also confirms my lawyer wrote to the police three times as prescribed in law but the police did not respond as they are legally bound;
"Anjing! Kukira Preman - Anjing! Ternyata Polda Bali Polis"
The police of course knew I would not attend because of the circumstances, as it cited legal code for spying and the death penalty, plus I was not Indonesia; I was hardly likely or able to arrange and pay for my own flight to certain human rights abuse at such short notice! Now, let me be clear about the last aspect of this; my not being in Indonesia and why this is yet another documented case of the police acting unlawfully against me.
International conventions and precedences do not allow the police force of any one country to serve a summons against anyone who is not a citizen or resident of that country if that person is not in that police force's country at the time of the summons. As I am not a citizen or resident of Indonesia, they should not have done this, it is unlawful. The correct procedure for the Balinese police would have been either;
a) To commence extradition proceedings against me. If they believed I had committed a serious criminal act, Indonesia would have been able to extradite me from where I was then living (Thailand). The trouble is of course, it was such a nasty BS investigation, they would not have been able to extradite me.
b) To request assistance from the police of the country I was in, to question me to determine if certain evidence was true and / or if a prosecution should commence. Again, BS unlawful investigations like the one against me prevented the Balinese police from doing this either.
Indonesian 60/90 day arrest law
This is where the police get people and would get me. Because they claim I did not attend a lawful summons, they have the automatic right to arrest and detain me for up to 60 days, plus another 30 days with an easily obtained court extensions. So to go to Bali to both clear my name and file my own law suits and criminal complaints against hose who act against me would cost me 90 days in jail or worse. I say worse as it has been made clear to me the Balinese police want me dead; Officer Tri Kuncoro had been harassing my friends in Bali with unlawful (not real) summons and told one, if I ever came to Bali I would be arrested and then shot in the back as I tried to escape. Bear in mind the UN special envoy on torture stated in his 2007-8 report that the Balinese police routinely rape, beat and even shoot detainees; how's that for a Balinese paradise?
Interpol Abuse
As a consequence of the west's so called "war on terror", pariah nations have been "allowed" to abuse Interpol. In return for data on real terrorists coming out from places like Indonesia, the Indonesian police have been given greater access to Interpol's facilities. As a result, the Balinese police were able to file a totally false regional Interpol watch order against me, citing I was suspected of being a spy or terrorist, providing the above summons and my non compliance as substantiation. My movements and whereabouts then were reported back by Thai and other nations' immigration and other law enforcement agencies to the Balinese police. This data, my home address, was then abused in order to try and have me murdered by local gangsters I am sure were paid for by Jack Daniels.
Some of the nasty anti-Mark circle of friends in Bali claim there was no Interpol watch order against me, that I made it all up. Here is an excerpt from a letter from my lawyer in Jakarta citing the Interpol file on me. This letter also confirms my lawyer wrote to the police three times as prescribed in law but the police did not respond as they are legally bound;
"Anjing! Kukira Preman - Anjing! Ternyata Polda Bali Polis"
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