Police arrest two suspected of blasphemy in North Jakarta

North Jakarta Metro Police have arrested two people suspected of committing blasphemy during The Sounds Project music festival in the Ancol area of North Jakarta on Sunday (9/8).

“We have detained two individuals, namely a woman with the initials R and a man with the initials E,” said Acting North Jakarta Metro Police Chief Senior Commissioner Oki Waskito in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Both suspects are currently at the North Jakarta Metro Police headquarters and a case review will be conducted. “Tonight or tomorrow there will be an upgrade in status to the investigation stage,” he said.

Following the alleged blasphemy incident that occurred in the Ancol area of North Jakarta on Sunday (9/8) and went viral on Monday (10/8), police had hoped that a party would come forward to report the case.

The Pademangan branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) eventually filed a report on Monday (10/8), which was then recorded as a police report.

Based on the police report, officers examined a number of witnesses and secured authentic evidence of the alleged blasphemous act.

“We have examined six witnesses in this case and all are still being processed,” said Oki.