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Agence France-Presse

Indonesian police have detained 141 men who were allegedly holding a gay party at a sauna, an official said on Monday, the latest sign of a backlash against homosexuals in the Muslim-majority country.
Officers late on Sunday raided a building in the capital Jakarta called Atlantis that houses a sauna and a gym, and halted the event they said was called “The Wild One”.
Pictures circulating online showed topless men sitting crammed in a room next to gym equipment after the police raid.
“Our officers did an undercover investigation and raided the place on Sunday,” senior detective Nasriadi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said.
Homosexuality and gay sex are legal everywhere in Indonesia except in conservative Aceh province, but Nasriadi said that 10 of those arrested in the Jakarta raid could be charged under Indonesia’s tough anti-pornography laws.
Anti-gay sentiment seen threatening Indonesia’s goal to end Aids by 2030
These include the alleged organisers of the event as well as men suspected of being prostitutes and striptease dancers. Those found guilty of breaking the laws face up to 10 years in jail.
The other detained men are still being questioned by police as potential witnesses in the case, the detective said.
It is the latest sign of growing hostility towards Indonesia’s small lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Since last year, ministers, hardliners and influential Islamic groups have been lining up to publicly denounce homosexuality.
Joko Widodo urged to stand up for LGBT rights after Indonesian government cracks down on ‘gay emoticons’ in messaging apps
Earlier this month Indonesian police detained eight men in the city of Surabaya for allegedly holding a gay party, and they could also be charged under the anti-porn laws.
Last week an Islamic court in Aceh also sentenced two men to be publicly caned for having gay sex, the first time such a punishment has been handed down for homosexual activities in the conservative province.
The backlash against the homosexual community began in early 2016, and activists believe it was triggered by widespread media coverage of a decision in the United States to legalise same-sex marriage.


Indonesian police make mass arrests after raid on ‘gay party’ at sauna

An anti-LGBT banner erected by an ultra-conservative Islamic group in Jakarta. Photo: AP

Indonesian LGBT groups set up safehouses as ‘cacophony of hatred’ reaches fever pitch 

Anti-LGBT Muslim groups are on the rise in Indonesia. Photo: AFP

In this photo taken on February 23, 2016 shows a pro-LGBT protester crashing to the floor during a clash with police in Yogyakarta, in Java island. The small gay community in conservative, Muslim-majority Indonesia is facing a sudden and unexpected backlash, with ministers and religious leaders denouncing homosexuality, LGBT websites blocked and emboldened hardliners launching anti-gay raids. AFP PHOTO / Suryo WIBOWO

Indonesian men sentenced to 85 strokes for gay sex

A sharia executor which is know as “algojo” receives a rattan as a caning tool during a whipping punishment in Banda Aceh. Photo: EPA

Police officer escorts two men accused of having gay sex into a holding cell to wait for the start of their trial at Shariah court in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 17,2017. A Shariah court in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province has sentenced two gay men to public caning for the first time, further tarnishing the country's moderate image after a top Christian politician was imprisoned for blasphemy. (AP Photo/Heri Juanda)

An Indonesian man sits in an Islamic court, one of the two men sentenced to 85 lashes of the cane for having sex together, in Banda Aceh, Aceh province, Indonesia May 17, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside

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