TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Novel Bamukmin, the Regional Secretary of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), will be detained by Jakarta Police as a suspect tonight.
Jakarta Police fhief Insp. General Unggung Cahyono said that Novel came in for questioning at 13.00 Jakarta time, after which he was named as detainee by the Jakarta Police. "He faces five to eight years in prison," he said at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Thursday, October 9, 2014.
Novel is known to be the field coordinator for FPI's rally against the upcoming inauguration of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama as Jakarta governor in front of the Jakarta Legislative Council Building (DPRD DKI Jakarta) last Friday, which ended in chaos.
Police then declared Novel as a fugitive, but he turned himself in on Wednesday, October 8, 2014. According to his attorneys, Novel didn't turn himself in earlier because his ankles were injured.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said the police were investigating the reason behind the presence of non-Jakarta residents in the anarchic protest. "We are trying to figure out the mastermind behind the riot, who sponsored the out-of-town rioters," he said.
Rikwanto said that Novel would be charged under Article 160, 170, and 214 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP), for conspiring, rioting, and assaulting law enforcement officials. Novel faces five to eight years behind bars.
HERMAWAN SETYANTO