Police say five detained, 11 officers injured in movie protest

The Jakarta Police say they have detained five from a total of around 400 people protesting violently on Monday against the circulation of controversial film Innocence of Muslims, which injured 11 police officers and caused minor injuries to some protestors.

The five, identified as NR, DJ, AS, EY and AD, will be questioned on Tuesday afternoon.

“Two people are still undergoing treatment at the Army Central Hospital [RSPAD], while nine others are being treated as outpatients,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said on Tuesday.

Tuesday's questioning aims to find out if the protestors were told to act violently by their field coordinator, Rikwanto added.

The five detainees were caught during the protest carrying stones, Molotov cocktails and slingshots with marbles as ammunition. However, Rikwanto said the police had yet to identify the background of the detainees.

A protest in front of the US Embassy in Jakarta organized by several mass organizations, including the Islamic Society Forum (FUI) and the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), over the circulation of the controversial film, turned violent when protesters started throwing stones at the police deployed to safeguard the protest.

The rally's field coordinator, Bernard Ahmad Jabbar, told The Jakarta Post on Monday before the demonstration that “there may be a little tossing here and there”.

“They said they wanted to protest against the film circulation and called for the director to be punished for blasphemy. We found several people in the crowd carrying illegal materials,” Rikwanto said.

Security around the US Embassy in Jakarta has been increased in the rally's aftermath. (aml/fzm)