Activist stripped, beaten in defense of churchgoers

A rights activist from the Association of Journalists for Diversity (Sejuk), Tantowi Anwari, was stripped and beaten by dozens of members of the notorious Islamic Defender Front (FPI) in the midst of his efforts to support the Filadelfia Batak Protestant Church congregation’s right to attend a controversial mass.

“The FPI members were apparently angry because I wore a t-shirt with the statement, ‘Say no to the majority’s tyranny’. They considered my t-shirt against Islam as the country’s majority,” he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

“They didn’t want to listen to any words I said - that I was there to defend the congregation’s right to perform ritual.”

He said after FPI members found him, they dragged him and stripped him of his shirt. He recalled being beaten by the crowd.

He said he was then brought to the FPI Tambun branch leader Nurhali Barda and then questioned surrounding his motives for wearing such a "provocative" t-shirt and advocating the rights of churchgoers.

He acknowledged that Nurhali had in fact confiscated his ID card and told him that he would keep it until he could determine Tantowi’s  role.

"In the middle of the interrogation, I was saved by a police officer who brought me to the Tambun Police precinct,” he said.

When asked about whether he would like to take any legal action regarding the incident, Tantowi said he had to discuss the matter first with other activists before announcing future action.

Indonesia fears growing intolerance due in part to what some critics perceive as an idle state apparatus and central administration.