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Student protest aftermath: Family questions police account of protestor’s cause of death
After seeing the condition of her son’s body, the mother of Maulana Suryadi does not buy the police’s account that the 23-year-old man passed away because of an asthma attack brought on by tear gas while participating in last month's rallies in front of the House of Representatives.
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Hundreds of high school students take to the streets to join protests near the House of Representatives compound in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, Sept. 25. (JP/Narabeto Korohama)
E
ven though the police have repeatedly denied using violence in their handling of the series of mass students rallies that took place in the capital last month, one protester, identified as Maulana Suryadi, has reportedly died, while two others sustained serious injuries.
According to police, Maulana, a parking attendant in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, died from "shortness of breath" on Sept. 26 at the Kramat Jati Police Hospital in East Jakarta.
However, after seeing the condition of her son’s body, Maulana’s mother does not buy the police’s account that the 23-year-old man passed away because of an asthma attack brought on by tear gas while participating in the rally.
She said Maulana's face was swollen and that blood was coming from his ears and nose, as reported by tempo.co.
"The police said my son died of asthma, but that’s impossible. I don't believe it," said Maspupah, 53, at her residence in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, last week.
She recalled that on Sept. 25, Maulana told her that he wanted to see the student rally taking place near the House of Representatives complex. Even though she objected to Maulana's plan, her son still went to join the crowd.
The next day, a group of police came to her house and told her that her son had died. They also asked her to come to the police's hospital to collect Maulana's body. The police later told her to sign a document declaring that Maulana’s cause of death was an asthma attack brought on by exposure to tear gas.
