Police raid house of Firza Husein

JAKARTA. The Jakarta Police on Wednesday raided a house belonging to Firza Husein, a treason suspect who allegedly had intimate conversations over WhatsApp with Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab, to seek evidence for two cases.

The police raided the house in Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta, on Tuesday, hours after Firza’s arrest over treason allegations.

“This is a follow-up to a report of pornography,” Jakarta Police special crimes director Sr. Comr. Wahyu Hadiningrat told reporters at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Wednesday. He was referring to a webpage featuring explicit photos of a woman resembling Firza that went viral on social media.

Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said that apart from the pornography case, the raid was also carried out to seek evidence for the treason case.

“We are killing two birds with one stone,” he said.

Firza was previously arrested for alleged treason along with 10 activists on Dec. 2, several hours before the start of a large-scale rally to demand the arrest of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in a blasphemy case. She was later released.

Argo said both Rizieq and Firza could be charged under the 2008 Pornography Law if found guilty of producing or spreading pornographic content.

Rizieq claimed the chat on the instant messaging service was fake and constituted attempted defamation. (Fachrul Sidiq)