Police in Jakarta have detained 141 men after raiding a gay club. The arrests are the latest step in what some have called a campaign against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Indonesia.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/T. Syuflana
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Police in Indonesia arrested 141 people on Sunday and accused some of them of involvement in same-gender prostitution, an officer said. Authorities have charged 10 people, including the owner of the club and multiple exotic dancers. A further 131 are being detained for questioning as potential witnesses, police spokesperson Argo Yuwono said in a statement released Monday.
Following an "undercover investigation," officers raided the Atlantis sauna-and-gym complex to put a halt to an event called The Wild One, which on Sunday featured such attractions as a striptease. Pictures circulating online showed topless men sitting crammed in a room next to gym equipment after the police raid.
"The photographs that are now spread out show that the police have no caution in handling this case," said human rights activist Tunggal Pawestri, adding that recent raids violated standard procedures in dealing with cases of moral offenses. "This investigation process has clearly dehumanized the suspects. I strongly condemn the police action; it is not fair and even triggers hatred against LGBT."
Indonesia has no nationwide law against nonnormative sexual expression, but lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTQ+) people say the government has created a hostile environment in order to intimidate activists. Last month, for example, police in Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, raided hotel rooms and detained eight men for participating in a "gay sex party."
Though officials in Jakarta cannot punish the men arrested merely for having sex, they have apparently discussed charging them under Indonesia's strict anti-pornography laws, which allow them to imprison people for up to 15 years at a time. Even downloading porn in Indonesia can lead to four years' incarceration or a fine of 2 billion rupiahs (134,000 euros, $150,000).
Last week, authorities in Aceh, which in 2014 became Indonesia's only province to criminalize LGBTQ+ identity, sentenced two men to public caning after convicting them of having sex with each other. Police acted after seeing a video provided by people who had broken into the couple's rented accommodation in order to surreptitiously record them having sex. Provincial authorities intend to strike each man 85 times.
mkg/rt (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)
As struggle for LGBT rights goes on, ColognePride offers respite
On Pride Friday in Germany's gayest city, LGBTQ+ people and their allies were waiting for the weekend's events to kick off. In general, visitors said they wanted equality, safety and to have a good time this weekend.
Image: DW/M. Gagnon
Wahid, Syria
Wahid is attending his first ColognePride since arriving from Syria three months ago. It's his first Pride ever. "I can live how I want in Cologne," Wahid said. "Study, marry," he added, "what you need for a normal life." (German law forbids marriage between people of the same sex, but an alternative system offers many of the same benefits.)
Image: DW/M. Gagnon
Michaela, Rheinbach
This is the first year volunteering at ColognePride for Michaela, who lives in the region and has attended for years. "I think it's really important after Orlando," Michaela said. Her words of wisdom for the weekend: "Love and peace. Love is love. God bless you."
Image: DW/M. Gagnon
Juan Carlos, Peru
Juan Carlos has lived in Cologne for eight months, but he's been to Pride here before. It's his favorite in Europe, even over Barcelona, London and Berlin. "I would like to open minds in South America. I'm a photographer. I upload a lot of pictures. It makes my friends and family in Peru think. We can't change the minds of people, but we can teach them that we can all live together."
Image: DW/M. Gagnon
Trans Family
Trans Family - from left to right this year, Kenneth, Andrea and Christina in the back row and Timon in the front - have pushed their efforts at ColognePride for 15 years. As the event has grown, so has visibility of transpeople, but equality remains a dream. "Everything changes too slowly," Christina said. True change, they said, will only come when transpeople and their allies enter government.
Image: DW/M. Gagnon
Max and Pierre, Bern
Max (left) and Pierre have been coming to ColognePride for a decade. It's a favorite, and they go to celebrations on both sides of the Atlantic. With Max volunteering for security on Sunday, the topic of the Orlando killings came up. "People at home discouraged us" from going to Cologne, Pierre said. But, Max said, they decided that "in light of Orlando, it's important to be loud and proud."
Image: DW/M. Gagnon
Daniela, Sandra, Luka and Mila, Berlin
It's the first ColognePride for the young family, though they have been to similar events in Cologne and Berlin. Daniela (right) said she and Sandra were looking forward to having "our kids see that we're not the only ones." Their big wish, though, for themselves, baby Mila and Luka in the stroller is "marriage for all." Daniela says it will happen "sometime, but not in the next while, I believe."
