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Police to deploy personnel at Soekarno-Hatta to anticipate Rizieq’s return
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Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab speaks to reporters at Jakarta Police headquarters on Feb. 1. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
T
he Jakarta Police plan to install a temporary security detail at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, to anticipate the return of Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab, a suspect in a pornography case.
Rizieq is expected to attend the "212 Rally Alumni" anniversary event at the National Monument on Dec. 2. The event is to mark the Dec. 2, 2016 rally, which included members of the FPI and pushed for the prosecution of then governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent, on blasphemy charges.
"We are waiting for certainty [on Rizieq's return]. We don't want to speculate," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said on Monday, as quoted by tribunnews.com. "Yes, personnel will later be [stationed] at Soekarno-Hatta airport."
Argo could not confirm whether the team would arrest Rizieq immediately upon arrival.
Rizieq's lawyer, Kapitra Ampera, had announced earlier that his client would return to Indonesia soon, following a stay of several months in Saudi Arabia after he was named a suspect in a pornography case.
Rizieq left the country in May, not long after police named him a suspect over the dissemination of sexually explicit WhatsApp messages in an alleged chat between him and Firza Hussein. Firza was also named a suspect in the case. (yon)
