Indonesia to investigate mistreatment of Nigerian diplomat by public servants
Jakarta, Aug 12 (EFE).- Indonesian authorities announced Thursday they will investigate the abusive treatment of a Nigerian diplomat by immigration officers in a Jakarta street.
A video that caused outrage in social media shows three Indonesian immigration agents pinning the diplomat down inside a vehicle, while they interrogate the man as he screams and complains about being unable to breathe.
The Immigration Department justified the manhandling by arguing that the diplomat was “uncooperative” when he was asked to show identification on August 7 in the street, and struck the officers first when they were driving him to the immigration office.
“What is seen in the video, our officers are trying to prevent the Nigerian foreigner from committing violence,” the department said in a statement.
Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the diplomat was an accredited Nigerian agent to the Embassy in Jakarta, but has not revealed the diplomat’s name.
Spokesperson for Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry Teuku Faizasyah said they lamented the incident and announced an investigation into the matter by the Ministry of Human Rights.
In a public release, the ministry said it was an isolated incident with no links to Indonesia’s commitment to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as a host country.
The Indonesian apology was issued after the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the incident as an act of international delinquency, summoned the Indonesian ambassador in Abuja, and called for appropriate sanctions against the officers involved. EFE
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