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First police beat him, then video of beating goes viral, now he stands trial for using violence
The trial of 172 people accused of participating in the May 22 postelection riots continues at the Central Jakarta District Court.
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A trial session of a group of defendants accused of involvement in postelection riots takes place at the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday. (kompas.com/Cynthia Lova)
T
he trial of almost 200 alleged rioters and alleged accomplices continued at the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday and Tuesday to prove the extent of their participation in the postelection riots on May 21 and 22.
One of the hearings on Tuesday was for a defendant named Andriyansyah, aka Andri Bibir, who became the talk of the town after a video purportedly showed police using brutality while trying to arrest him went viral on social media.
Andri allegedly provided stones for the protesters to throw at the police and was charged with violating Article 212 or 214 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on using violence to fight against authorities and Article 218 for refusing to comply with the authorities.
After his hearing, Andri admitted that it was him who had been repeatedly beaten by police officers in the video. The incident took place on May 23, the morning after the riot.
The night before, Andri said he heard he was among the police’s most-wanted persons, so he ran to Kampung Bali in Tanah Abang and hid in Al Huda Mosque. When he was about to flee in the morning, he said he bumped into many officers already guarding the area.
“I was terrified and powerless; then I was beaten just like that,” he said.
“I fainted. I was already in a police car when I regained consciousness. Then I fainted again and woke up at the Jakarta Police’s medical center,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.
