Dozens of men were arrested in Indonesia after a raid on a ‘gay spa’ in Jakarta.
Several foreigners – including four Chinese and a Dutchman – were among the 58 detained on Friday.
Most were released but, according to Human Rights Watch, five employees at the sauna – four men and one woman – face charges of violating pornography laws.
They could face up to ten years in prison.
A plainclothes policeman holds a rifle as he escorts suspects during a police investigation into a men’s club after a weekend raid on what authorities described as a ‘gay spa’ in Jakarta
Among those detained at the spa in Central Jakarta on Friday were four Chinese nationals, a Singaporean, one Thai national, one Malaysian, and one Dutchman
Most were released but, according to Human Rights Watch , five employees at the sauna – four men and one woman – face charges of violating pornography laws. Pictured: Police hold up bags of evidence after the arrests
The country is home to the world’s largest Muslim population. Pictured: Some of the 58 detained on Friday
The arrests are the latest in a spate of high-profile police actions against gay clubs and parties in Indonesia this year that have called the country’s reputation for tolerance into question.
With the exception of the ultra-conservative Aceh province in northern Sumatra, where Islamic law is enforced and two men were publicly flogged last month for gay sex, homosexuality is legal in Indonesia.
The country is home to the world’s largest Muslim population.
Among those detained at the spa in Central Jakarta on Friday were four Chinese nationals, a Singaporean, one Thai national, one Malaysian, and one Dutchman, although none of the foreigners would be charged, Jakarta Police spokesman Argo Yuwono said.
With the exception of the ultra-conservative Aceh province in northern Sumatra, where Islamic law is enforced and two men were publicly flogged last month for gay sex, homosexuality is legal in Indonesia
Police also released a picture of what they explained were sex toys. Activists say police targeting of consensual gay sex has shone a light on discrimination and harassment in the world’s third-largest democracy
When asked about what the people in the spa were doing at the time of the raid, Yuwono noted that it was dark at the time.
‘LGBT is clearly between men and men or same-sex relationships. Male prostitution,’ Yuwono said, without clarifying further. He said those charged could face up to six years in prison under Indonesia’s pornography law.
‘There’s a cashier, the manager there and also those providing facilities like towels and other things,’ he said.
He added: ‘We treated them well. They came out from the scene with proper clothes and their faces were covered.’
Police also released a picture of what they explained were sex toys.
Activists say police targeting of consensual gay sex has shone a light on discrimination and harassment in the world’s third-largest democracy.
Andreas Harsono, a Jakarta-based researcher for Human Rights Watch, referred to a pattern of discriminatory police action against LGBT people in Indonesia.
‘If they raided (this club) because they are gay, it is abusive, it is abuse of power,’ he said, adding that there is no law against homosexuality as long as relationships are consensual.
‘If there is no victim, there is no crime,’ he said.
When asked about what the people in the spa were doing at the time of the raid, Yuwono noted that it was dark at the time. ‘LGBT is clearly between men and men or same-sex relationships. Male prostitution,’ Yuwono said
The arrests are the latest in a spate of high-profile police actions against gay clubs and parties in Indonesia this year that have called the country’s reputation for tolerance into question
Andreas Harsono, a Jakarta-based researcher for Human Rights Watch, referred to a pattern of discriminatory police action against LGBT people in Indonesia. ‘If they raided (this club) because they are gay, it is abusive, it is abuse of power,’ he said, adding that there is no law against homosexuality as long as relationships are consensual
Police often used the pornography law to ‘criminalise’ such cases, but that law itself is also complicated, Harsono said, noting that people could be charged if they had pornographic material on a cell phone.
‘Just imagine if every person in Indonesia had their cell phones checked, how many hundred million people would go to jail?’
In May, officers detained 141 men in a raid on the Atlantis sauna, accusing them of involvement in a gay prostitution ring in a part of Jakarta that is also home to many heterosexual ‘spas’.
The United Nations has previously called on Indonesian authorities to release people detained on the basis of their sexual orientation and to combat anti-gay stigma in the country.