Haryanti Puspa Sari, Jakarta – The total number of people arrested by police during Thursday’s protest actions around the country against the recently enacted Omnibus Law on Job Creation throughout Indonesia now stands at 5,918.
“In protest actions which ended in anarchy, Polri [the national police] arrested 5,918 people”, said national police public relations division head Inspector General Argo Yuwono in a press release on Saturday October 10.
Despite this, not all of those arrested have been declared suspects (changed). Only 240 people have had their status upgraded to the criminal investigation stage or been declared suspects.
“Meanwhile, 153 people are still being questioned, 87 people have been imprisoned”, he said.
Yuwono said that law enforcement against rioters is part of safeguarding the state’s authority and maintaining public order and security. “The stat cannot be allowed to be defeated by thuggery and intolerance”, he said.
Furthermore said Yuwono, as many as 145 of the arrested protesters were found to be Covid-19 reactive after being given rapid tests. Those who are reactive will undergo swab tests to confirm whether or not they are infected with Covid-19.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was “Polisi Total Amankan 5.918 Orang dalam Demo Tolak UU Cipta Kerja”.]
