Indonesia: Six supporters of hardline cleric killed in shootout
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A shootout in Indonesia left six supporters of an Islamic cleric dead. The shooutout of cleric - Rizieq Shihab’s followers has raised concerns of a potential conflict between Indonesian authorities and Islamist groups in the country
A shootout in Indonesia left six supporters of an Islamic cleric dead. The shooutout of cleric - Rizieq Shihab’s followers has raised concerns of a potential conflict between Indonesian authorities and Islamist groups in the country.
The police chief of Jakarta - Fadil Imran said that the shootout happened after midnight on a highway. Reportedly, the cleric’s supporters had attacks a police vehicle with firearms, a samurai sword, ans sickles.
After the shootout, the police displayed the weapons during a news conference. Currently, the police are investigating the cleric for flouting COVID-19 norms, after several gatherings to celebrate the end of his self-exile from Saudi Arabia took place last month.
After failing to appear for questioning last week, Rizieq was supposed to appear for police questioning on Monday.
A spokesperson for the Islamic Defender’s Front (FPI) - Munarman, who also leads the the group led by Rizieq denied that their supporters were armed, adding that the cleric and his family were en route a prayer event, where they were attacked by “unknown thugs”.
He also referred to the shootout as “extrajudicial killings”. In a statement, the Indonesian Police Watch said that the conflicting accounts given of the incident should be investigated by an independent fact-checking team.
In 2017, the 55-year-old cleric left Indonesia after facing charges of pornography and insulting state ideology, after which he went on an exile in Saudi Arabia.