Men with Blue Ribbon Arrive.MPG

An amateur video obtained by Human Rights Watch shows hundreds of villagers encircling the house of an Ahmadiyah leader, Ismail Suparman, nicknamed Parman, at around 10 a.m. on February 6. A man in a black leather jacket and a skullcap leads the attackers, telling plainclothes police officers outside the house to move away.

The video shows two police trucks parked outside the house. One officer tries to persuade the mob's leader not to attack, but he waves the police away. A man in military uniform also asks the villagers not to attack. In a matter of seconds, hundreds of the attackers wearing blue ribbons pinned to their chests -- to distinguish themselves -- enter the house, where at least 21 Ahmadiyah men are taking refugee. The group's leader takes out a machete. The Ahmadis try to defend themselves with bamboo sticks and stones, but are in no position to stop the mob.

The assailants quickly take over the house and burn it, along with a van and a motorcycle. They order the Ahmadiyah men to strip naked, and the video footage shows gruesome beatings of the men with wooden sticks, hoes, and machetes. Three died and six were injured. Some of the Ahmadiyah in the house remain unaccounted for.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Indonesia
• Ahmadiyah
• Cikeusik
• Violence
• HRW