Indonesia apprehends seven for terrorist threats during Pope's visit

Seven people have been detained in Indonesia for making "terrorist threats" against the Pope. Francis, on Friday, ended his visit to this most populous Muslim-majority country, reported the Channel News Asia portal.

Aswin Siregar, spokesperson for Indonesia's anti-terrorism unit Densus 88, informed Aswin Siregar that the suspects were detained in Jakarta, the capital city, as well as in the provinces of West Sumatra and Kepulauan Bangka Belitung.

The detainees had threatened via the internet to carry out bomb attacks during public gatherings. - There were also threats of arson - stated the spokesperson.

The police did not disclose details about the detainees, including their religion, but - as the portal reminded - Indonesia has long been combating Islamist threats. In 2002, 202 people, including a Polish journalist, were killed in the Bali bombing.

In connection with the Pope's visit, Indonesian authorities deployed 4,000 officers, including snipers, at key points.

On Friday, Francis left Indonesia, heading to Papua New Guinea.

Indonesia is home to over 240 million Muslims, making up about 87 percent of the population. Christians account for 11 percent, with the remainder mainly being followers of Hinduism or identifying with Buddhism or Confucianism.

The country's constitution formally guarantees religious freedom for Indonesians, but regulations introduced in the 1960s require every Indonesian to state their religion on their identity card. The choices were limited to Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. The option of "no religion" was not provided.

In recent years, however, it has been recognised that a seventh category, "practitioner of belief," should be implemented. As assessed by the Human Rights Watch organisation in January, about 140,000 Indonesians practising local faiths opted for the seventh category.