Tebet locals allegedly gang up and kill Somali refugee after victim used profane language

Ahmed Mohammad, a 19-year-old refugee from Somalia living in Jakarta, died early Thursday after he was allegedly beaten by locals in Tebet, South Jakarta.

Ahmed, who was reportedly registered as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), was hanging out with four local men identified as AF, MF, RRN, and MF. They were drinking alcohol at around 3 am on Thursday.

At some point, Ahmed allegedly used profane language and started insulting the others.

“The victim (Ahmed) then punched [one of the suspects] first. Because [the suspects] were upset by the victim’s words, they ganged up on him,” said Tebet Police Chief Nurdin A Rahmat, as quoted by Vivanews yesterday.

The suspects, who outnumbered Ahmed four to one, eventually killed the refugee with their bare hands.

All four suspects have been arrested and are still in the custody of the Tebet Police. The criminal charges against them haven’t been revealed yet.

According to 2015 data from UNHCR, 13,188 refugees and asylum seekers are living in Indonesia. While what happened to Ahmed was extremely unfortunate, we hope that other refugees can find safe haven here – whether they want to stay here permanently or if Indonesia is just a transit point for their eventual destination.



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