M. Rizki Yusrial, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has urged the police to release individuals arrested during labor and anti-parliament protests that occurred at various locations from August 28-29, 2025.
"We are pushing the police to release all the protesters who have been arrested," said Brigadier General Muhammad Nas, the Assistant Intelligence Officer of Kostrad, in front of the crowd gathered at the Kwitang Brimob Headquarters in Central Jakarta on Friday, August 29, 2025.
Protests involving laborers, university students, and high school students had been ongoing since Thursday morning, August 28, 2025, in front of the Parliament Building. Clashes broke out that evening in several areas around Senayan, and during a police dispersal effort, an online motorcycle taxi driver was fatally run over by a Brimob vehicle.
The incident enraged the crowd, who chased the vehicle to the Kwitang Brimob Headquarters. The chaos escalated and spread to Jalan Otista in East Jakarta. Protesters demanded that the police take responsibility for the death of the 21-year-old driver, Affan Kurniawan.
Brigadier General Nas stated that at least 170 people have been released so far, while the Lokataru Foundation reported last night that at least 600 people had been arrested by the police.
The crowd remains gathered at the Kwitang Brimob Headquarters, demanding the identities of the Brimob personnel involved in Affan's death.
Police have stated that seven individuals have been arrested and are being questioned, but the demonstrators are refusing to disperse until the faces of the seven Brimob members are revealed to the public. The protesters expressed a lack of trust in a process where the police investigate their own officers.