Six German students arrested over visa violations<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police arrested six German students who were
\nconducting a demographical survey in a slum area of Karang Anyar
\nin Central Jakarta on Saturday evening for immigration
\nviolations, a police spokesman said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The students were released at about 10 a.m. the following
\nmorning.<\/p>\n
"They were arrested for immigration violations. They entered
\nIndonesia on tourist visas although the purpose of their visit
\nwas to conduct a survey," city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton
\nBachrul Alam told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said the six students, who were arrested along with three
\nlocal people, were taken to the Central Jakarta Police Station
\nfor questioning.<\/p>\n
The foreigners are among a group of 27 students of the
\nUniversity of Bonn who arrived in the city on Friday for a
\ndemographical and geographical survey.<\/p>\n
The six were identified only as Niklas, Ina, Katherine, Marie,
\nPatrick and Martin, while the local people were Horas Siringo-
\nringo of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC), Slamet Tompel, a
\nresident of Karang Anyar and Elizabeth, a translator.<\/p>\n
After they were released, the students were transferred to the
\nimmigration office. They were allowed to leave the office within
\nan hour.<\/p>\n
An immigration officer told the Post they held the students'
\npassports and told them to come to the immigration office for
\nfurther questioning on Monday.<\/p>\n
The three local people were later released on Sunday
\nafternoon.<\/p>\n
UPC's advocacy division head M. Berkah Gumulya criticized the
\npolice for the arrest.<\/p>\n
"It shows that the police tried to halt people's freedom of
\nexpression and union," Gumulya told the Post.<\/p>\n
He said the students were interviewing slum residents when the
\npolice came. Some of them were taken to a police truck and some
\nothers were taken by taxi to the police station.<\/p>\n
He said the students were questioned from about 6 p.m. on
\nSaturday until 2 a.m. on Sunday morning "without being given
\nsufficient food and drink".<\/p>\n
UPC activists accompanied the students visiting five slum
\nareas in the city's five mayoralties and also a luxury housing
\ncomplex in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang, where the German
\nInternational School and a German center are found.<\/p>\n
The 27 students are staying at Wisma Karya on Jl. Jaksa,
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
When the Post tried to contact them on Sunday night, an
\nemployee of the hostel said that the guests were not available.<\/p>\n
Gumulya revealed the six students were initially charged by
\nthe police in connection with a clash between becak (pedicab)
\ndrivers and the city's public order officers, in which a civilian
\nguard was killed.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, two days
\nbefore the students' arrival in the city.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of
\nScience (LIPI) Hermawan Sulistyo admitted that many foreign
\nresearchers used tourist visas, since it was difficult to obtain
\nthe appropriate visa.<\/p>\n
"The process could take even up to a year," he told the Post<\/p>\n
He said researchers were required to get permits from many
\nstate institutions, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
\nthe State Intelligence Coordinating Agency (Bakin).<\/p>\n
In June this year, police arrested 32 foreigners who joined an
\ninternational seminar on labor in Sawangan, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
They were later transferred to the immigration office. But
\nimmigration authorities said 31 of them had a short-visit visa,
\nwhich allowed them to attend the seminar. Only a Pakistani was
\ndeported as he held a tourist visa. (jun)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/six-german-students-arrested-over-visa-violations-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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