Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The police have admitted that some of their personnel had acted out of line in dealing with participants of the Third Papuan People`s Congress in Abepura recently.

"Some of our members had overstepped the limits of proper conduct in dealing with the Papua Congress people. But these officers have been held to account by our Ethics Council. They ignored the law when carrying out their security duties," the head of the National Police`s public relations division, Inspector General Saud Usman Nasution, said here on Monday.

The police officers concerned, 15 in number, made procedural mistakes when they dispersed the congress but they had now been given sanctions, Saud said.

The cases of the 15 erring police officers were handled by the Police`s Ethics Council in four sessions.

"The first session involved four members of the Mobile Brigade of the Papuan regional command and two of them were given a written reprimand, two others were put in solitary confinement for 14 days," he said.

The former chief of the Jayapura city resort police was processed in an ethics session on November 22, 2011 and given a written reprimand.

Seven other police officers have also been given written reprimands. Five petty officers meanwhile were processed on November 23 and given seven days in solitary confinement and written reprimands, he said.

"The city resort police chief was the responsible one and members have been processed through ethics sessions and given punishment depending on their activities when enforcing the law against the attack on the legitimate government on November 19, 2011," he said.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) following its investigation on October 23-27 into the incident connected to the 3rd congress of Papuans concluded that the police had violated procedures when dealing with it.(*)

Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011