Bandung – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) urged West Java Police on Wednesday to release four individuals detained for protesting against plans for an iron mine in Cileungsi district, Bogor, West Java.

They were arrested and detained on Nov. 14, a day after they joined a rally and clashed with the police.

Walhi deputy director Dedi Kurniawan said that the police should have been fair by releasing the four detainees, who were struggling for justice in the name of a clean and healthy environment.

Dedi said that police efforts to drive away the protesters were wrong. Instead, the police should have protected the protesters to ensure that they could exercise their rights, he said. He deplored the police's decision to stand behind hoodlums, who allegedly provoked the rally by pelting the protesters with stones.

"There's a wrong perception as to why the police even protect owners of ore mines, which have legally been closed by the regency administration and the Forestry Ministry," he said.