On Friday, prior to a football match between Persija and Persela at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) stadium in Senayan, tragedy struck when 16-year-old Muhammad Fahreza died just outside the stadium.
Fahreza was reportedly among the group of supporters who clashed with police officers just outside one of the stadium’s entrance gates after the supporters weren’t able to buy tickets to the match. Some witnesses supposedly claimed the cause of Fahreza’s death was that he was killed in a stampede of supporters fleeing from police.
However, Fahreza’s family suspects that he died because of police brutality.
“He (Fahreza) was standing behind Yatna (his brother) and suddenly disappeared. When we looked for him, it turned out my brother was being beaten by police officers,” said Sholeh, Fahreza’s brother, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
There is currently no official police investigation into the accusation. The Jakarta Metro Police says there were no reports of supporters being physically abused on Friday.
Persija, however, has formed a committee to investigate the cause of Fahreza’s death.
