Source: Reuters
BY Agustinus Beo Da Costa, Fanny Potkin
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Hardline Islamists protested in Indonesia’s capital on Wednesday over the investigation of an opposition activist who claimed that bruising on her face was caused by a politically motivated assault but later admitted that it was due to cosmetic surgery.
The furor over 69-year-old Ratna Sarumpaet’s bizarre case has stoked political tensions in Jakarta ahead of next April’s presidential election, which will pit incumbent Joko Widodo against retired army general Prabowo Subianto.
Sarumpaet, one of Prabowo’s campaign advisers, has been a strident critic of Widodo’s government and figurehead of a “2019 Change the President” movement.
Categories: Asia, Indonesia, Islamists, The Muslim Times