Police officially detained Indonesia Rise Committee secretary-general Ferry Yuliantono on Saturday for allegedly masterminding a student protest against the fuel price rise, which turned violent.

Ferry was charged with violating three articles of the Criminal Code on provocation, arson and mass violence, which carry a maximum penalty of more than five years in jail, said National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira.

"Ferry has been questioned by our investigators and he is a suspect in this case. He is facing multiple charges," he said.

Police arrested Ferry upon his return Friday night from Guangzhou, China, where he had participated in a regional conference along with other 15 Indonesian delegates.

"Although he wasn't in Jakarta and didn't take part in the violent rally, he had ordered people to carry out violent acts during the student rally.

"That's against the law. We have some evidence, including witnesses, to prove that he's involved in the riot," Abubakar said.

On Tuesday, hundreds of students from several universities staged a rally to up pressure on the government to cancel its decision to raise fuel prices.

The protest turned into a riot when students and other young people burned tires and cars and tore down the gates in front of the House of Representatives building. Seven people were declared suspects in the case Thursday.

The State Intelligence Agency (BIN) had publicly identified a person by the initials as FY -- apparently referring to Ferry Yulianto -- as the mastermind of the riot.

Abubakar said two police officers had followed Ferry since Thursday when he was still in Guangzhou as there was a possibility that the suspect could have escaped arrest.

"The Indonesian entourage was supposed to take a flight from Guangzhou to Nanking, also in China, before heading to Jakarta. Instead of taking the plane, Ferry boarded another plane which took him to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia," he said.

"Our two officers immediately informed Malaysian national police and the immigration office, which later handed him over to us soon after he arrived in Kuala Lumpur," he said.

Indonesia Rise Committee spokesman Adhie Massardi denied Ferry ever tried to flee.

"He didn't escape. If he wanted to flee, he shouldn't have been in Asian countries. He would have fled to European countries," he told The Jakarta Post.

Adhie said Ferry was in Malaysia to undergo a general health checkup.

"Ferry knew he was being targeted by police and he wanted to go home to find out what really happened," he said.

"He decided to drop by Malaysia to undergo a general health checkup. He just wanted to make sure that he was physically fit before police questioned him.

Ferry's lawyer Chudri Sitompul echoed Adhie's comments.

"He never tried to escape. He called me up a day before he was arrested, saying he wanted to go home and asking me to set up a legal team to defend him if the police arrested him," Chudri said.

Ferry's arrest came the same day Indonesia Rise Committee chairman Rizal Ramli was fired by state-owned cement firm PT Semen Gresik as president commissioner for his alleged link to Tuesday's violent rally.

Rizal, who was chief economic minister under the Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid administration, is a vocal opponent of the current government.

He is among the staunchest critics of the government's decision to raise fuel prices. It is not clear if the police will also arrest Rizal over the riot in the capital. (trw)

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