Indonesian police brutality mars nationwide protests with dozens injured

Riot police stand guard on Aug. 22, 2024, during a protest against planned controversial revisions to the Regional Elections Law, outside the Indonesian Parliament building in Jakarta. - Photo: Reuters

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): The nationwide demonstrations on Thursday demanding that lawmakers cancel the controversial revisions to the prevailing Regional Elections Law have been marred with police brutality, with hundreds of protesters reportedly arrested and assaulted, leading to the injury of 28 of them.

Various human rights groups reported that the police had used excessive force in dispersing the protests by firing water cannons and tear gas as well as launching violent attacks against unarmed participants, some of whom were underage students.