Pope Francis departs Indonesia amid terrorist threat arrests
Seven people have been detained in Indonesia for making "terrorist threats" against Pope Francis. According to Channel News Asia, he concluded his visit to the most populous Muslim-majority country on Friday.
Aswin Siregar, spokesperson for Indonesia's anti-terrorism unit, Densus 88, said the suspects were detained in Jakarta, the capital city, and the provinces of West Sumatra and Kepulauan Bangka Belitung.
The detainees had threatened via the internet to carry out bomb attacks during public gatherings. "There were also threats of arson," stated the spokesperson.
Snipers on standby during the pope's visit
The police did not disclose details about the detainees, including their religion. However, as the portal reminded readers, Indonesia has long been combating Islamist threats. In 2002, 202 people, including a Polish journalist, were killed in the Bali bombing.
In connection with the Pope's visit, Indonesian authorities deployed 4,000 officers, including snipers, at key points.
On Friday, Francis left Indonesia, heading to Papua New Guinea.
The most populous Muslim-majority country in the world
Indonesia is home to over 240 million Muslims, making up about 87 percent of the population. Christians account for 11 percent, with the remainder mainly being followers of Hinduism or identifying with Buddhism or Confucianism.
The country's constitution formally guarantees religious freedom for Indonesians. However, regulations introduced in the 1960s require every Indonesian to state their religion on their identity card. The choices were limited to Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. The option of "no religion" was not provided.
In recent years, it has been recognized that a seventh category, "practitioner of belief," should be implemented. As the Human Rights Watch organization assessed in January, about 140,000 Indonesians practicing local faiths opted for the seventh category.
