Police brutality in Indonesia is nothing new, but when a journalist becomes a victim of such abuse, you can be sure that the culprit will be reported on in the news.
Saiful Anwar, a stringer for a local TV station, claims he was on the receiving end of violent treatment from a couple of police officers yesterday afternoon in Senen, Central Jakarta after he accidentally brushed a law enforcer’s arm with his motorcycle.
“I was in a rush to chase a story in Cempaka Putih. As I was driving on the Senen flyover, the handle on my motorcycle only brushed against his (the police officer’s) arm,” Saiful said, as quoted by Merdeka today.
According to Saiful, the cop, whose identity is not yet known, went after Saiful and told him to stop driving. At the same time a National Police car arrived at the scene, and the cop driving the car told Saiful to get in the car before pointing a gun at him.
The first cop then also went in the car and allegedly started beating up Saiful. They both took Saiful to a nearby precinct, where, during an interrogation, Saiful revealed himself to be a journalist and he was eventually let go.
The Jakarta Metro Police have not yet made any public statement regarding these allegations.
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