Harvard Grad Student Dies in Bali From Police Brutality Over Cannabis Arrest

Rodrigo Ventocilla Ventosilla, 32, a Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) graduate student from Peru, died on August 11 while in police custody at a hospital in Denpasar, Indonesia. Died. Transgender Ventosila was arrested for possessing cannabis while traveling to Bali to celebrate his honeymoon.

HKS and the transgender community are seeking help in highlighting the alleged injustices and human rights abuses that took place in Bali last month, with allegations of police brutality and torture.

Police took Ventosila to Bayankala hospital where she suffered from stomach pains and vomiting. radar burrHowever, his condition deteriorated and he was taken to Sangla Central General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 3:10 pm on 11 August.

HKS President Douglas Elmendorf and HKS Senior Associate for Degree Programs and Student Affairs Dean Debra E. “Debbie” Isaacson announced Ventocilla’s death to school officials and friends on August 12th.

Witnesses say it was a case of police brutality and say the official police story is ludicrous. . Bali Police’s head of public relations, Stephanus Satakeba Yousetianto, claims that Ventoscira consumed more unseized drugs in his jail on August 8, which led to his death.

A statement from the families of Ventoscilla and his spouse, Sebastian Mararano, called on “the Peruvian justice system to properly investigate the human rights violations of Rodrigo and Sebastian and to ensure truth, justice and reparation.”

Mararano, who flew to Bali on another plane, was acquitted and detained by police after trying to help Ventocilla, according to a family statement. He was “hospitalized” a few days after being detained.

“We received an explanation from Rodrigo’s family yesterday about the very disturbing circumstances surrounding Rodrigo’s death.24 statement.

“The statement from Rodrigo’s family raises very serious issues that deserve clear and accurate answers. We support the bereaved family’s call for disclosure of relevant information.”

Ventocilla was a co-founder of the Peruvian transgender advocacy group Diversidades Trans Masculinas. She attended her Kennedy School at Harvard, where she was pursuing a master’s degree in public administration in international development.

The family has asked the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conduct an investigation into the conduct of Julio Eduardo Tenorio Pereira, head of consular services at the Peruvian Embassy in Indonesia.

This is the latest cannabis-related offense in Bali where the punishment does not seem to fit the crime by Western standards. A Brazilian student arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali faced a 15-year crisis. 9.1 grams of cannabis.

Elmendorf and Isaacson said HKS will hold a memorial service in memory of Ventocilla.