A mob accused a trans woman of stealing. After they couldn’t find anything on her, they burned her alive
Muslim protesters march against the LGBT+ community in Banda Aceh, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, in 2017. (CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP/Getty)
A 42-year-old trans woman was brutally beaten then burned alive by gang members who had accused her of theft in North Jakarta, Indonesia, reports say.
The victim, named locally as Mira, was reportedly accused of stealing a phone and wallet from a truck driver who had parked near her house in Cilincing, a coastal neighbourhood in the city, on April 4.
Mira was then reportedly surrounded by members of a mob who accused her of theft and proceeded to pummel her.
After they could not find the possessions, they are said to have poured around two litres of gasoline on her.
The last thing she heard was: ‘I will burn you.’
A friend of the victim who said they witnessed the attack, named Orin, claimed the gang members work as informal security guards for trucks that park in the neighbourhood.
Orin alleged that a gang member, after assaulting the victim and splashing the gasoline on her, held up a matchstick.
They reportedly asked her: “Will you confess? If not, I will burn you.”
A second gang member then dropped a lighter on Mira, setting her on fire, according to reports.
Medics and locals rushed Mira to Koja General Regional Hospital in the Koja district of North Jakarta. However on April 5 at midday, she was pronounced dead.
Neighbours paid for medical bills as well as her burial. Mira had previously lived in Bekasi, West Java.
Trans murder case should serve as a wake-up call, say human rights activists.
Officials confirmed the case, but declined to provide further details to The Jakarta Post.
“We are still searching for the perpetrators. Please pray for us so we can find them,” investigators said.
Amnesty International said in a statement that two of the alleged perpetrators are in custody, while three others remain on the run.
Usman Ham, Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director, said: “This despicable murder must be investigated urgently. It would not be the first time that LGBTI people in Indonesia have been violently targeted simply for who they are.
“Without prompt action from the authorities to cast light on this horrifying crime and bring perpetrators to justice, transgender people in Indonesia will feel even further neglected and vilified by their government.
“The authorities must also take this appalling murder as a wake-up call and repeal its laws that criminalise specific gender identities.”
Indonesia is moving to ban homosexuality and send ‘offenders’ to ‘rehab’.
The attack comes as Indonesian lawmakers double down on efforts to force LGBT+ people into treatment to “cure” them.
The Family Resilience Bill would force LGBT+ people into government-sanctioned “rehabilitation centres”, which would give religious-based “treatment” for being LGBT+.
A draft of the bill was introduced last month by three lawmakers in Indonesia’s house of representatives.
