Radical Islamic group raid gay ‘sex party’, force police to arrest men and seize HIV drugs
Hardline group The Islam Defenders Front (FPI) raided a private gathering in an apartment complex in South Jakarta on Saturday and forced 13 arrests, at what they believed to be a ‘gay sex party.’
A 50-strong FPI mob shouting “Allahu Akbar” swarmed the Kalibata City apartment complex and forced local police to detain the men, whom they found shirtless and ‘playing games’ The Jakarta Post reports.
Backed by the FPI, the police also seized antiretroviral HIV drugs, condoms and smartphones from the apartment.
Homosexual sex is legal between consenting adults in Indonesia and so any criminal wrongdoing is yet to be proven by police. There is little evidence to suggest that the men inside the apartment were acting out with the law.
The FPI were tipped off about the event via a circulated invitation and seized upon it as a chance to punish what they deem to be immoral behaviour.
FPI members boasted about the arrests on Twitter, including a photo of the detained men alongside claims they had ‘successfully broken up’ the gay sex party.
The FPI has a long history of targeting minorities and institutions which they believe to be in conflict with the Muslim faith.
In recent years members have committed violent attacks on the Ahmadiyah community, smashed up ‘sinful’ bars for selling alcohol during the holy month of Ramadan and held protests that forced Lady Gaga to cancel the Jakarta leg of her tour amid safety fears.
With little to no retribution from the Indonesian government or police, the hardline group has gradually become more vocal and dangerous towards minority groups such as Hindus, smaller Islamic sects and the LGBT community.
Human Rights Watch published a report in August 2016 entitled ‘These Political Games Ruin Our Lives: Indonesia’s LGBT Community Under Threat’ which details the sharp, unprecedented rise in anti-LGBT sentiment within the country.
Indonesia’s Association of Psychiatrists this year claimed being LGBT was a mental disorder and gay emojis were banned from popular messaging apps such as Whatsapp in February.
The country’s first transgender boarding school was also forced to close this year, under threat from radical groups.
