Jakarta – The initiator of massive rallies against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama reported the arrest of a firebrand cleric for alleged treason to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) on Tuesday.
The National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa (GNPF-MUI) paid a visit to Komnas HAM headquarters in Jakarta to report the arrest of M. Al-Khaththath and other suspects for alleged treason, several hours before the March 31 rally demanding Ahok's dismissal from his post.
The head of GNPF-MUI's legal team, Achmad Michdan, elaborated on the chronology of the arrest of Muslim People Forum (FUI) leader Al-Khaththath, saying "The police failed to show a warrant when they arrested Al-Khaththath at 1 a.m. on Saturday at the Kempinski hotel, Central Jakarta."
"Afterward, when I tried to see him at [the police's] Mobile Brigade Command detention center [Mako Brimob] in Depok, West Java, the officers there denied they were detaining anyone," Michdan said. "Al-Khaththath was asked 34 questions during the investigation, but none of them had anything to do with what he was charged with."
The GNPF-MUI was the initiator of large protests against Ahok on Oct. 14, Nov. 4 and Dec. 2 last year. Komnas HAM commissioner Meneger Nasution said the commission had accepted the report, saying the case would be looked into.
Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono, meanwhile, said "the most important thing is we carried out the arrests according to standard operating procedures," Argo said on Tuesday. (dea)