FPI members told to keep calm
Novan Iman Santosa and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The detained chairman of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) radical group called on its members on Monday to keep calm and avoid violent actions, especially entering the Ramadhan fasting month.
FPI chairman Al Habib Rizieq Shihab made the call to members of the group who visited him at Jakarta Police Headquarters, where he has been detained since Oct. 16 on charges of instigating violence and vandalism.
"Habib Rizieq is deeply concerned with the situation outside the police detention center," a senior FPI member, Habib Faisol, told The Jakarta Post.
"He is afraid that FPI members will get angry on account of his detention and has called on the members to stay patient especially with the arrival of the Ramadhan fasting month."
Faisol also said that Rizieq was in good health and was displaying no signs of stress.
Hundreds of FPI members visited the group's chairman to wish him well during the Ramadhan fasting month.
Also present were members of the Surakarta Islamic Youth Forum (FPIS).
When asked whether the FPI would raid nightspots during the fasting month as had happened in the past, Faisol said there had been no such instructions from Rizieq.
"Our members, however, will continue patrolling the nightspots even without the presence of Habib Rizieq," he said. "It is important to keep control over nightspots that defy the government's orders."
The city administration has banned certain nightspots, such as discotheques and massage parlors, from operating during the fasting month while places such as cafes, singing halls and pubs will be allowed to operate between 8:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.
Discotheques in star-rated hotels are allowed to remain open but they must close on the first day of Ramadhan, the night of the revelation of the Koran in the middle of Ramadhan and on the two days of Idul Fitri.
Earlier in the morning, the South Jakarta District Court opened the first hearing into Rizieq's legal fight against the Jakarta Police over his detention.
Lawyer Mahendradatta told the court, which was packed with Rizieq's FPI members and supporters, that the police could not detain his client without strong grounds. He also said that the police had seized documents from the FPI offices without a search warrant.
The lawyers urged Judge Effendi to declare the detention invalid and to order the police to present Rizieq in court to hear the ruling on Tuesday.
The Jakarta Police's lawyer, Soeyitno, claimed that the detention was in compliance with the Criminal Procedures Code (KUHAP).
He also said that counsel had no right to demand the presence of Rizieq, who was still in police custody undergoing investigation.