The West Java Police officially named Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Habib Rizieq a suspect for insulting the state ideology of Pancasila and founding father Sukarno yesterday in a move that was praised by many who felt that the hardline group’s leader, who had stood at the forefront of the movement to jail Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama for his alleged blasphemy, was finally getting a taste of his own medicine.
But members of the FPI and affiliated hardline groups, of course, see it very differently. They have decried the move by the police as nothing less than the unjust criminalization of their leader for politically motivated reasons, with one of their senior members actually calling it a crime committed by the government.
“This is state crime in state policy, criminalizing human thought,” said Kapitra Ampera, a member of the National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council’s Fatwa (GNPF-MUI), as quoted by CNN Indonesia. GNPF-MUI is the group which helped organize the massive anti-Ahok protest in November and December and is comprised of members of hardline Islamic groups including FPI.
FPI members protested at West Java Police Headquarters when Rizieq was questioned over the case two weeks ago, leading to a violent clash with another organization, which in turn led to FPI members protesting at National Police Headquarters twice calling for the ouster of the West Java Police Chief as well as for Rizieq to not be investigated.
Although Rizieq has been named a suspect, he has not been detained by police because law enforcers are not allowed to detain individuals for crimes with a maximum jail sentence of less than five years (Rizieq faces a possible four years in jail for his crimes).
Ahok was not detained by the police for the same reason when he was first declared a suspect in his ongoing blasphemy case. At the time, FPI officials vehemently argued he should have been thrown in jail immediately because he might have tampered with evidence. Unsurprisingly, they have not made a similar argument regarding Rizieq’s detainment.
However, West Java Police are planning to call Rizieq in for questioning next week as a suspect in the case. FPI spokesman Maarif Slamet said that all of the hardline group’s members have been instructed to remain calm for now, that they should be ready to do whatever it takes to defend their leader.
“They will continue to defend the clergy. They will defend Habib until the end,” Slamet said as quoted by Detik.
Responding to an appeal from the West Java Police that FPI protesters not come out en masse for Rizieq’s questioning, Slamet said they could not guarantee they could heed the police’s wishes. He argued that FPI’s presence would actually help decrease any unrest that might occur.
“We must be there, between them. If we are not there, that is what would create the true danger to the security of this country. So (our presence) is meant to make the situation more conducive,” he said.
Slamet also said that FPI would be immediately filing a pretrial motion to have the charges against Rizieq dismissed.
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