Indonesian security minister attacked by man with knife - police

Indonesian security minister attacked by man with knife - police
FILE PHOTO: Indonesia Chief Security Minister Wiranto delivers a speech during a meeting between former militants and victims in Jakarta, Indonesia, February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Beawiharta/File Photo Copyright Beawiharta Beawiharta(Reuters)
By Reuters
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button

JAKARTA (Reuters) - A man wielding a knife attacked Indonesian Chief Security Minister Wiranto on Thursday, during a visit to a town on the island of Java, images from police and television showed.

Television footage showed the minister getting out of a car in Pandeglang, in Banten province, before he was attacked and slumped to the ground.

A police photograph showed the minister, a former general, being carried on a stretcher into a nearby hospital.

National police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo confirmed the incident and told media the perpetrator had been arrested and an officer had been hurt.

Officers wrestled the suspect to the ground and an image supplied by police showed the suspect, who was wearing a black shirt and light trousers with his arms and legs secured.

Wiranto, 72, has served as chief security minister in President Joko Widodo's cabinet since 2016.

His appointment drew criticism from rights groups for his involvement as chief of the armed forces in the bloody upheaval in East Timor.

Wiranto was indicted by a U.N. panel over the bloodshed surrounding East Timor’s 1999 independence vote, when about 1,000 people were killed. Wiranto denied any wrongdoing in East Timor.

(Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Ed Davies, Robert Birsel)

Share this articleComments

You might also like

Cars submerged as Cyclone Belal sparks flash flooding in Mauritius

Indian rescuers pull out all 41 workers trapped in collapsed tunnel for 17 days

Moscow threatens to confiscate EU assets, West expanding Ukraine war to Asia, drone strikes