141 Arrested In Gay Club Raid
The Indonesian police has detained 141 men in a raid on what authorities described as a gay prostitution ring run from a club in the north of Jakarta, a police spokesman said on Monday.
Police spokesman Argo Yuwono said in a statement those detained had “violated pornography laws”.
He said 10 suspects, including the owner of the club and several staff members, had been charged, while the others were being questioned.
Sunday night’s raid came amid concerns over a backlash against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.
Rights activists condemned the raid as a violation of privacy.
“These detentions set a bad precedent for gender and sexual minorities,” Legal Aid Jakarta, a coalition of lawyers and activists, said in a statement.
The group said the men were humiliated by police and many were strip-searched, photographed and marched naked from the venue into police vehicles. Photos were then shared on social media, the group added.
