SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Treason-accused Indonesians released

Indonesian police have released seven treason suspects, saying their detention in the early hours of Friday was in part "preventative".

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

Seven Indonesians arrested on suspicion of treasonous activity have been released, with police saying they believe the group was seeking to use a large-scale rally in the country's capital to "occupy parliament".

After weeks of monitoring, 11 people were arrested in early sweeps on Friday, just hours ahead of the demonstration against Jakarta's Christian governor that drew tens of thousands of people into the capital.

Police initially said 10 people were detained but on Saturday National Police Spokesman Inspector General Boy Rafli Amar said there were 11.

Eight including Rachmawati Soekarnoputri - one of the daughters of Indonesia's first president and the sister of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri - had since been released, he added.

Seven of those eight were detained for alleged treason, while musician Ahmad Dhani is accusing of disseminating hate speech against Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Meanwhile, three others remain in detention, two of whom were arrested for allegedly breaching information laws such as inciting people through social media.

Insp Gen Amar said the group had been meeting for at least three weeks and their detention was a "preventative" measure.

"The suspicion is (that they were going) to manipulate the masses to occupy parliament and then had planned to have an extraordinary (parliamentary) meeting demanding a change of government and so on," Insp Gen Amar told reporters at a press conference.

He alleged the group had hoped to deviate the masses when they were going home - plugging into those who were "not satisfied" with simply protesting.

"We don't want huge mass mobilisation to be manipulated by certain people."

How advanced discussions were over the alleged plot to overthrow the government, however, is unclear.

While the eight have been released, investigations into their activity will continue, police said.

The arrests come after last month's violent rally against Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama - commonly referred to as Ahok - over comments he made referring to the Koran.

The demonstration on November 4 started relatively peacefully but descended into violence as night fell, with waters cannons and tear gas used, hundreds injured and several police vehicles set ablaze.

President Widodo blamed "political actors" for taking advantage of the demonstration for their own gains.

Ahok is locked in a three-way race for the capital's top post with former education minister Anies Baswedan and Agus Yudhoyono, the son of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The election will be held in February.

He is set to face court before election day over allegations he committed blasphemy when referring to the Koran in a September speech.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world