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.
National Police confirm beating video real, claim man still alive
The National Police have denied reports that a man officers were filmed beating had died.
Change Size
Police fire tear gas at protesters during a riot near the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
T
he National Police have officially confirmed that a viral video actually shows officers beating an unarmed man near Al-Huda Mosque in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, but denied reports that the victim had died.
“The [beaten] person in the video was in fact one of the rioters whom the police arrested, identified as A aka Andri Bibir,” National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said on Saturday as quoted by kompas.com.
Read also: Video purportedly shows police brutality during Jakarta riot
Dedi alleged that Andri had prepared and supplied rocks to rioters to be thrown at the police during the riots in Central Jakarta on Tuesday and Wednesday, which followed street protests against the General Elections Commission’s (KPU) announcement of election results that confirmed incumbent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s victory against Prabowo Subianto.
Dedi claimed that Andri had also prepared containers of water for rioters to ease the pain caused by tear gas.
“That was not a spontaneous rally. It was designed to turn into riot,” he said, claiming that Andri got caught by the police while doing the acts of which he is accused and had tried to escape.
Dedi said that the Jakarta Police had named Andri a suspect and detained him.
The video, which was put online by supporters of Prabowo, shows what appears to be a group of antiriot police officers surrounding Al-Huda Mosque. They are then seen dragging a shirtless man and repeatedly beating and kicking him. (swd)
