In Indonesia, mentally ill kept shackled in filthy cells
Before he died, this man lived chained to a platform at Kyai Syamsul's center in Brebes, Central Java. While there, his ankles swelled from constantly being shackled and his body became emaciated, according to new report from Human Rights Watch.
Andrea Star Reese/Human Rights Watch
Ekram, a man with a psychosocial disability has been held in pasung -- the local practice of confining individuals believed to have been possessed by spirits -- in this shed next to his family home in Cianjur, West Java.
This man lived shackled in stocks for nine years in a back room in his family's home in Cianjur in West Java. When he was released, his legs had atrophied from disuse, HRW said.
Andrew Star Reece/Human Rights Watch
A man sings in his cell, his hands moving in an intricate dance, at Pengobatan Alternatif Jasono, a traditional healing center in Cilacap, Central Java.
Human Rights Watch
Two residents at the Bina Lestari healing center in Brebes, Central Java, are chained to a wooden platform bed while an Islamic faith healer stands nearby. At the center, all residents are chained and receive traditional "healing" through prayer, consumption of special drinks, or blessings with holy water.
Andrea Star Reese/Human Rights Watch
A 24-year-old female resident lies with her wrist and ankle chained to a platform bed at Bina Lestari healing center in Brebes, Central Java. After her husband abandoned her and her 5 year-old daughter, she began to suffer from depression, HRW said in the report.
