TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jakarta Police apprehend 22 following siege of YLBHI
Change Size
Violent protest: Hundreds of people claiming to be anti-communists stage a protest in front of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute building in Central Jakarta late on Sunday. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he Jakarta Police have taken into custody 22 people following a mob protest that turned violent in front of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) early on Monday.
“We have apprehended 22 people. They are being questioned at the Central Jakarta Police headquarters,” Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said on Monday.
The 22 people are suspected of being involved in the violent protest. Rocks were thrown by protesters, injuring some police officers.
Hundreds of people besieged the YLBHI office in Central Jakarta, believing that a gathering inside the office was associated with the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
They started to gather outside the office at around 9:30 p.m., urging officials to dismiss the event.
Muhammad Isnur from the YLBHI said the event had nothing to do with the PKI and was specifically focused on the current state of the country's democracy.
"We have been frequently accused of facilitating the PKI and that is incorrect," Isnur said as quoted by kompas.com.
