Briton held after Indonesian police raid gay sauna party

A BRITON is among 141 men detained by Indonesian police in a raid on a gay sauna in the capital, Jakarta.

The men were detained for questioning after police raided what they claimed was a gay sex party promoted as “The Wild One” on Sunday night. Activists say it is the latest sign of growing hostility towards homosexuality in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Teams of lawyers had descended on the North Jakarta police precinct where the men are being held to offer legal assistance, but to no avail, Ricky Gunawan from the Community Legal Aid Institute told The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Gunawan claimed this was a common tactic used by Indonesian police immediately after arrest. “Usually this is the time where the people ar- rested will confess and then the police will use their confessions because there is no lawyer present,” he said.

Homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia but the police were using “loosely defined” pornography laws, Mr Gunawan said. Police have so far said that 10 people will be charged, including the sauna’s owner and several strippers. If found guilty they face a jail term of up to 10 years.

Others arrested must be released by this morning if there is no evidence of criminality against them. Otherwise they could be detained for 20 days.

Indonesia’s gay community has been increasingly under siege in the past year, subject to raids and arrests. Two men face caning today for gay sex in the conservative province of Aceh.