JAKARTA: The National Police have arrested Laras Faizati Khairunnisa, in a crackdown against social media activists following deadly protests and riots in Jakarta.
Laras, whose Instagram is @larazfaizati, is alleged to have incited protests in Jakarta.
The police have accused her of rallying protestors to set fire to the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta, at the peak of protests against lawmakers’ excessive salaries last week.
The police cybercrimes director, Brig. Gen. Himawan Bayu Aji, said Laras was alleged to have uploaded a video on her social media account rallying people to set fire to the police headquarters, located near her office.
According to her LinkedIn, Laras is a communications officer for an organisation affiliated with the Asean secretariat in Jakarta.
Himawan accused Laras of “creating and uploading a video on her Instagram that incites hatred toward individuals and groups, and inciting mass action,” at a press conference on Wednesday (Sept 3).
Last week, demonstrations and unrest spread across the country as people protested against the excessive salary hikes of legislators amid budget cuts, rising layoffs and reduced regional transfers.
The death of Affan Kurniawan, a motorcycle transportation driver, who was run over by a police vehicle ignited further protests, as some people set fire to regional council buildings and looted high-ranking officials’ houses.
President Prabowo Subianto has called for calm but instructed that severe punishments be given to protesters and rioters.
Thousands of police and military personnel have been deployed to crack down on protesters, including at university campuses in cities outside Jakarta.
The crackdown turned deadly in Yogyakarta, where Amikom University student Rheza Sendy Utama was killed by security personnel during a protest near the Yogyakarta Police headquarters.
Following the nationwide protests, at least 10 people have died, 20 are missing and 500 have been injured, according to civil society organizations and other reports.
The police have also detained two other activists, Delpedro Marhaen from the rights group Lokataru Foundation, and Syahdan Husein, an Instagram admin for @gejayanmemanggil, for inciting riots.
Laras’ lawyer, Abdul Gafur Sangadji, stated that her arrest was so quick that the police prevented her from explaining herself to the investigators.
Abdul elaborated that the police said they had received a report against Laras on Aug. 31, and then detained her the next day, without prior questioning.
“This is very important for us. Why? If someone is to be named a suspect, they must know what the case is and based on whose report,” Abdul said during a visit to a police headquarters in Jakarta on Tuesday, as quoted by Antara.
Fauziah, Laras’ mother who was present with the lawyer, pleaded for her daughter’s release. “She is a good person. Perhaps, she only spoke what’s on her mind. Please stop the prosecution. Please release her,” she said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
