Jakarta – Hundreds of members of the Islamic Defenders Front, or FPI, marched on Central Jakarta's Jalan Jenderal Sudirman to protest against the questioning of their leader, Rizieq Shihab, by the Jakarta Police on Monday morning (23/01).
The protesters marched from Al Azhar Mosque on Jalan Sisimangaraja in South Jakarta to the Jakarta Police headquarters on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman at 9 a.m.
The traffic from Semanggi Interchange heading to the Pemuda Membangun monument in Senayan area was partly diverted during the protest. The connecting roads from SCBD to Jalan Jenderal Sudirman were closed.
Rizieq was scheduled to attend the questioning at 10 a.m., as a witness in an investigation regarding his claim that newly released Indonesian banknotes feature the hammer-and-sickle symbol that resembles the logo of the long-disbanded and prohibited Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
"We want to examine him with regard to his speech that appeared on YouTube, to see what his intent was," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono said.
He added that police investigators have already questioned several witnesses in the case, including representatives of the central bank and information and technology experts.