Riot police stand guard on Aug. 22, 2024, during a protest against planned controversial revisions to the Regional Elections Law, outside the Indonesian Parliament building in Jakarta. - Photo: Reuters
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): The nationwide demonstrations on Thursday demanding that lawmakers cancel the controversial revisions to the prevailing Regional Elections Law have been marred with police brutality, with hundreds of protesters reportedly arrested and assaulted, leading to the injury of 28 of them.
Various human rights groups reported that the police had used excessive force in dispersing the protests by firing water cannons and tear gas as well as launching violent attacks against unarmed participants, some of whom were underage students.
A viral video which made rounds on social media shortly after the protests became violent on Thursday evening showing a protester being trampled and beaten with batons by some police officers when he was already on the ground.
Someone reported to be an IDN Times journalist was also captured being intimidated by security officers to delete footage showing police brutality.
A reporter with Tempo was also purportedly attacked while recording the police assault against protesters who were already lying limp on the ground. Amnesty International Indonesia confirmed the police brutality as they were directly observing the protests spread across a number of cities, including Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, Semarang in Central Java and Makassar in South Sulawesi.
Police officers surround a protester on Aug. 22, 2024, amid the demonstration against the revision of the Regional Elections Law, in front of the Parliament complex in Central Jakarta. - Antara Photo via The Jakarta Post/ANN
“Through the evening, many rally participants were arrested and treated in ways that does not reflect professional law enforcement,” Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said in a statement, adding that police should have only used their power to protect and save lives.
What began as peaceful protests on Thursday morning descended into chaos as the day wore on, with demonstrators surrounding the Parliament complex in Central Jakarta attempting to start fires and even tearing down fences, leading to direct clashes between them and security personnel.
“[Still], the police’ violence was completely unnecessary since no lives were threatened by the protesters’ actions,” Usman emphasized.
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said demonstrating is a form of constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression that must be respected by every party, including law enforcement. It, therefore, deplores police violence in handling demonstrations, including by allegedly involving the army.
“The dissolution of demonstrations should be carried out using a humane approach, the commission said, while noting that at least 159 protesters had been detained by the Jakarta Police as of Thursday night at 10pm.
“Komnas HAM urges law enforcement officials to immediately release all arrested demonstrators [...] and encourages state authorities to ensure the conduciveness of future demonstrations [...] by following the principles of human rights”.
According to a Kompas.com report, two students from the University of Indonesia in Depok, West Java, and Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, were rushed to the Bhakti Mulia Hospital in West Jakarta after suffering injuries as the result of police violence.
Meanwhile, in Semarang, as many as 26 students also suffered injuries, with 18 of them being admitted to health facilities.
Public advocacy groups united under the Democracy Advocacy Team reported that 39 demonstrators were arrested for questioning at the Jakarta Police headquarters and had not been released as of Friday afternoon.
Demonstrators burn objects on Aug. 22, 2024, amid clashes outside the House of Representatives building in Jakarta during a protest against a move to reverse the Constitutional Court's decision to alter eligibility rules for candidates in a key election later this year. - AFP Photo
Another 105 protesters, including juveniles, were detained by the West Jakarta Police and Tanjung Duren Police. Andrie Yunus from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) alleged that police officers had tortured one of the victims they represented.
“Based on the victim's testimony, he was caught [by the police], fell to the ground and was then beaten by about 15 officers who forced him to confess to throwing stones and tearing down fences, all of which he claimed he did not do,” Andrie told a press conference.
He added that Kontras also found a substantial amount of blood spatter in one of the rooms in the House complex, which was used for temporarily detaining demonstrators before they were transferred to the police station.
Of the 39 protesters taken to the Metro Jaya Regional Police headquarters, most arrived bleeding from physical violence.
Meanwhile, Fadhil from the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) said his legal team was obstructed by officers when they tried to accompany the demonstrators at Metro Jaya, before finally being able to meet the victims early Friday morning.
“[We accuse] police officers of detaining protestors without following proper procedures, as there were no official letters for these arrests.
They also confiscated a cell phone and sent it to a forensic lab without any permission,” he said, adding that juveniles were also questioned without being accompanied by their parents or legal counsel, as required by prevailing regulations.
The Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Press) also reported that at least seven journalists were assaulted by officers while covering the demonstrations.
Jakarta police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Ade Ary Syam Indradi claimed on Thursday that they did not detain any protesters and that the police had communicated clearly with protestors while securing the rallies.
However, on Friday afternoon, Ade confirmed that the police had detained a total of 301 demonstrators for allegedly “disturbing the public order, vandalizing public facilities and committing violence”, as quoted by Tempo. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
