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The police chief says six died after officers felt their lives were in danger following a car chase on the Jakarta highway.
Six suspected supporters of Indonesian Muslim leader Muhammad Rizieq Shihab were killed in a clash with police in the early hours of Monday morning, Jakarta Police Chief Fadil Imran told reporters.
The incident occurred shortly after midnight on a highway in eastern Jakarta when a police car was attacked while following a vehicle believed to be carrying followers of the scholar, Fadil said.
“Officers who felt their lives were threatened took firm and measured action against the group,” Fadil was quoted as saying by the Kompas newspaper.
The group had firearms and sharp weapons, the police chief added, according to the newspaper.
Police have been investigating the controversial academic for violations of health protocols during the pandemic after large rallies to mark his return to Indonesia in November after fleeing to Saudi Arabia in 2017.
Supporters of Rizieq Shihab, leader of the Islamic Defenders Front, gather at his headquarters in Jakarta on November 10 to welcome him back from Saudi Arabia. [Bay Ismoyo/AFP]
Rizieq, who heads a hardline group known as the Islamic Defenders Front, exiled himself after he was charged under the country’s pornography laws for allegedly exchanging explicit text messages, including nude photos with a woman who did not it was his wife.
The leader, who has led campaigns against minorities and rallied his supporters to press blasphemy charges against former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian, said the messages were false. The charges were dropped in 2018.
Riziek, as well as his son-in-law and several others, were to be questioned by police on Monday for violating COVID-19 rules. Indonesia has reported more than half a million COVID-19 cases and nearly 18,000 deaths. It reported more than 6,000 new cases on Sunday.
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