Authorities in Indonesia arrested seven suspects on terrorism charges before and during Pope Francis’ visit to the country Sept. 3–6, Morning Star News reported.
Special Detachment Densus 88, an elite force, arrested the seven suspects from different parts of the country following their social media posts threatening to bomb and otherwise kill the pope and burn down sites of his appearances in Jakarta, media outlets reported.
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“Densus 88 has taken legal action against seven individuals … who made threats in the form of propaganda or terror threats via social media in response to the pope’s arrival,” special detachment spokesman Aswin Siregar told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday (Sept. 5), according to the Jakarta Post. “There was also a threat to set fire to the locations the pope paid courtesy visits.”
Though the suspects came from different areas with no links to each other, most suspected they are are connected with or influenced by Islamic extremist groups such as the Islamic State, Kompas.com reported. Aswin gave no information on the motives of the suspects.
Indonesia ranked 42nd on the Christian support organization Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Indonesian society has adopted a more conservative Islamic character, and churches involved in evangelistic outreach are at risk of being targeted by Islamic extremist groups, according to the WWL report.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Morning Star News.
