Floresa.co – A Church-linked rights network in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province called for a victim-centered trial as hearings began on July 22 in an alleged trafficking case involving 13 West Java women recruited to work at a karaoke bar.
“The state must not lose to business owners who hide behind the label of the entertainment industry while carrying out practices that degrade human dignity,” the Sikka Human Rights Network said in a written statement.
The networdk includes Flores Volunteer Team for Humanity (TRUK-F), a Catholic volunteer group based in Maumere; Ledalero Institute of Philosophy and Creative Technology; the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation commissions of the Divine Word Missionaries and the Holy Spirit Sisters; and the Candraditya Research Center.
The appeal came as the trial involving 13 female workers from West Java who worked at Eltras pub entered the witness examination stage at Maumere District Court.
The women, from Bandung, Cianjur and Karawang, were aged between 17 and 26, while some reportedly began working when they were 15.
The network said the women had been promised monthly wages of 8 million rupiah (US$447), free accommodation, clothing and beauty facilities, but instead allegedly faced workplace pressure, physical and psychological violence, and unfair compensation.
The case surfaced in January when the women sought assistance from TRUK-F. Prosecutors took over the case after receiving the suspects and evidence from Sikka police on June 25. The two suspects, Yoseph Calanzansius Grandy Wonasoba, also known as Andi Wonasoba, and his wife, Arina Abdulrachman, own and manage Eltras pub.
The network said the victims were accompanied in court by officials from West Java’s women and children protection office, the Witness and Victim Protection Agency, and legal advocates from West Java.
It urged the court to apply a victims’ rights framework under Indonesia’s Criminal Procedure Code, saying the women must not be treated merely as evidence but recognized as legal subjects with a direct stake in the proceedings.
The groups also called for the victims to be allowed to deliver victim impact statements so judges can hear directly about the physical, psychological, social and economic harm they suffered before handing down a verdict.
“Victims must no longer be spectators in criminal proceedings. They are parties whose interests must be recognized in real terms by investigators, prosecutors and judges,” the network said.
The network said law enforcement officials must prove the defendants’ guilt while also protecting the rights of victims, especially women and children.
The groups said the case highlights weak law enforcement in the regions, disregard for victims’ constitutional rights, and the gap between victim-protection norms and actual practice.
Since 2016, the network said, several cases it assisted were handled under labor provisions rather than anti-trafficking laws, leaving victims’ rights to restitution, rehabilitation and recovery only partially fulfilled.
“When trafficking cases are shifted into the labor domain, victims’ rights disappear with them. Restitution, rehabilitation and recovery, which should be at the heart of victim protection, are not given their proper place,” the network said.
It cited the case of 72 workers from Sikka who were recruited and sent to East Kalimantan last year, saying only some were reached and processed. Such cases, it said, show the need for integrated standards so victims do not lose their rights again.
In the Eltras case, the network said the single trafficking indictment is an important test for law enforcement officials and urged judges to treat it as a trafficking offense that affects the dignity and future of the victims.
The groups also warned of a high risk of exploitation in night entertainment venues in Sikka district. Of around 40 pubs, only a small number reportedly have permits, while local government supervision remains inadequate, they said.
The network said it would continue monitoring the case with local and West Java authorities, Sikka police, and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency until the victims receive restitution, rehabilitation, protection and recovery.
“Justice must be upheld even if the heavens fall,” it said.
East Nusa Tenggara is among Indonesia’s most vulnerable trafficking provinces, with cases often tied to unsafe labor migration, poverty, limited education, illegal recruitment and weak oversight.
Indonesia remained on Tier 2 in the 2025 U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report, which cited fewer investigations, weak victim screening and referrals, corruption, and the lack of a national standard for identifying trafficking victims.
