Buol, Central Sulawesi. As new allegations of human rights abuses by police emerge over the shooting deaths of eight protesters last Tuesday in Buol, Central Sulawesi, police say they have charged three officers with criminal negligence.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Marwoto Soeto said on Monday that the three officers from the Biau subprecinct office had been named suspects in the shooting, in which 34 civilians and nine officers were also injured.

The three, who have been identified only as MB, S and AR, are charged with criminal negligence leading to death, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Meanwhile, Ifdhal Kasim, the chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), called the incident “a serious violation of human rights.”

Haris Azhar, from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said the rights abuses extended to well after Tuesday’s incident.

“The police have been terrorizing the injured and denying them proper medical treatment,” he said.

State news agency Antara reported on Monday that three shooting victims had returned to Buol General Hospital for treatment to their injuries.

One of them, Sudirman, 31, said police on Thursday forced him to leave the hospital where he was undergoing treatment to his injuries. He also said he had witnessed officers threatening other patients with their guns.

“I was traumatized and so I ran away and went home,” he said.

He said that he had gone home for two days but his condition continued to deteriorate so he had decided to return to the hospital.

Sudirman said he was shot while riding a motorcycle near the clash between Buol residents and police.

Separately, Central Sulawesi Governor HB Paliudju said there were clear indications of rights abuses in the police’s decision to fire live rounds rather than rubber bullets at the protesters.

“This must be resolved to give the people some peace of mind,” he said on Monday.

Though National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri has formed a team to probe the incident, Ifdhal said he should take “concrete actions” in investigating all the officers involved in the shooting and their superiors.

Amnesty International has called for the government to establish an independent fact-finding team and said that the police and Komnas HAM were “inadequate in dealing with complaints about police abuses, and bringing justice and reparations to the victims.”

However, both Ifdhal and Haris said a joint probe with the police was necessary to avoid internal resistance when questioning officers and to foster public trust in the police.

“There’s no need for an independent team. The police need to cooperate with us,” Ifdhal said.