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Police release circular on ‘treason’ amid planned mass rally
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On alert: Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. M. Iriawan (second right) and Jakarta Military Command commander Maj. Gen. Teddy Laksmana (second left) receive explanations from Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Dwiyono (right) over security measures ahead of a planned mass rally by Islamic organizations in Jakarta. Iriawan issued a circular on Nov. 21, reminding people of the consequences of an "act of treason". (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
J
akarta Police have issued a circular, reminding people that an act of treason could face the death penalty amid a plan by some Islamic conservative organizations to carry out another large-scale demonstration on Dec. 2.
“In expressing one’s thought in public, it is illegal to carry out [an act that will jeopardize] the nation’s security such as treason against the president or the vice president,” the circular stated, which was signed by Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Mochammad Iriawan.
“[The person responsible for] the act could be sentenced to death or with a life sentence,” the circular added.
A group called the National Movement to Save the Indonesia Ulema Council’s Fatwa (GNPF-MUI), the same group that organized the rally on Nov. 4, previously said they would carry out another mass rally on Dec. 2 because their demand of having the inactive Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama arrested had not been fulfilled by the police.
(Read also: Security measures prepared to prevent expulsion of Jokowi)
Ahok, a Christian of Chinese descent, has been accused of blasphemy when he mentioned a Quranic verse in a public event that was recorded and eventually went viral on social media last month.
The allegations triggered uproar among Muslim conservatives, where over a 100,000 protesters conducted a mass rally on Nov. 4 to demand the immediate arrest of Ahok.
Police named Ahok a suspect in the case last Wednesday but was not arrested. (jun)
