JAKARTA - An ANTARA photojournalist, Bayu Pratama, was hit several times by police officers securing a demonstration in front of the DPR/MPR/DPD RI building.
"I was carrying two cameras and wearing an ID card," Bayu said, as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, August 25, 2025.
Bayu said the incident happened so quickly. While he was taking pictures of the dispersal of the protesters, officers suddenly struck him with batons.
He claimed to have blocked the officers' blows with his hands, but the blows instead hit the camera he was using to cover the chaos at the demonstration.
"The camera died from the blows. My left hand is also scratched," he said.
Bayu lamented the officers' repressive attitude, which made it impossible to distinguish between journalists and protesters.
Police officers fired water cannons to disperse the protesters who became violent, throwing stones at officers in front of the DPR/MPR/DPD RI building on Monday afternoon.
Monitoring at the location around 12:50 PM WIB (Western Indonesian Time), police officers continued to push back the protesters by combing Jalan Gatot Subroto.
Officers also continued to urge the protesters to retreat and leave the location, as the situation was becoming increasingly tense.
The crowd, forced back, slowly retreated and left the demonstration site, attempting to throw objects at the officers.
In addition to firing water cannons, officers also fired tear gas to disperse the protesters.
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