Jakarta – The National Police arrested 1,489 people during a series of student protests in Jakarta and intend to prosecute 380 of them.

The 380 individuals are facing different charges, such as spreading false information, hurling rocks at the police, possessing sharp weapons, vandalizing police stations and possessing Molotov cocktails, the police said.

Almost half of them (179) remain in police custody, according to National Police spokesman Comr. Asep Adi Saputra.

"The detained suspects comprise two college students, two school students and 175 thugs and unemployed individuals," he said as quoted by kompas.com on Thursday.

The other arrestees have been released. They are either considered innocent, underage or have been granted temporary release.

A series of rallies initiated by university students to protest problematic bills in front of the House of Representatives from Sept. 24 to Sept. 30 turned violent and led to rioting in some parts of the city. (dpk)

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/10/04/1489-people-arrested-during-student-protests.html