Security Law Gives Police ‘a Blank Check’ for Violence

The regulation used by the police to justify violence against protesters, which has led to a string of deaths and other abuses of power in the past few weeks, was designed for presidential security, activists said on Tuesday.

The so-called Standard Procedures to Deal With Anarchism provided the pretext for police to use violent measures, including firing live rounds at unarmed protesters, said Poengky Indarti, director of nongovernmental human rights group Imparsial.