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Raid on suspected gay sex party based on law: Police
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Strapped: North Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Dwiyono (left) holds up on Monday equipment seized as evidence during a raid on a gym in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. Police arrested 141 people in the raid on the gym, which was alleged to be a venue for homosexual activities. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he National Police have insisted that the arrest of 141 men during a raid on an alleged gay party at a gym in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, on Sunday night was legal and conducted according to the 2008 Pornography Law.
“The arrests conducted by the North Jakarta Police were in line with the 2008 Pornography Law, especially articles 4 (2) and 30,” National Police spokesperson, Sr. Com. Martinus Sitompul told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Several human rights watchdogs and supporters of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) social movements have protested the police’s handling of the case after a string of pictures emerged of naked men who were alleged to be gay being herded into the police office for interrogation. The pictures went viral on social media.
“Those pictures and information were not from the police,” Martinus said. He said a number of police officers were involved in the raid, but he denied the pictures and information uploaded on social media were distributed by the police.
“The police will inform of the arrest procedure through a press conference or press release,” he added.
“If some NGOs have objections to the legal procedure, I advise them to directly contact the police handling the case so they can get full information about it,” Martinus said. (hol/ebf)
