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‘Police took turns hitting my son’: Mother of suspected rioter
The 17-year-old was with his friends in the area when he was suddenly ambushed by the police.
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Riot police apprehend a man believed to be one of the instigators of a riot that erupts in Jatibaru, Central Jakarta. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
F
itriah could not hide her disappointment with the police after she discovered that her son RM, had been among those arrested during postelection riots that erupted from protests held in front of the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) building in Central Jakarta on May 22.
The 17-year-old, she said, was with his friends in the area when he was suddenly ambushed by the police.
“He got bruises on his head and all over his body as a result of the police’s brutality,” she said. “According to my son, police personnel took turns hitting him after he was arrested.”
RM was among the scores of people arrested by the police in Central and West Jakarta following protests held by supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.
Thousands of people took to the streets on May 21, shortly after the General Elections Commission (KPU) announced incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s victory over the retired Army general.
The peaceful rally turned violent when a number of protesters started to throw stones and Molotov cocktails at security forces. Others set fire to a police car. The unrest spread to at least five locations in Central and West Jakarta and continue until the early hours of May 23.
The police arrested more than 400 people suspected to be instigators and participants of the riots.
