BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Muslims in Indonesia’s conservative and semiautonomous Aceh province are protesting an investigation into local police who rounded up and publicly humiliated transgender women. Several hundred people rallied outside the Baiturrahman grand mosque in the provincial capital after Friday prayers, carrying banners the read “LGBT is not Aceh local wisdom” and “Free Aceh from transvestites.”National Police spokesman Mochammad Iqbal said an internal police unit is investigating officers including North Aceh police Chief Untung Sangaji. “We cannot blame the actions of the North Aceh police,” Yusuf said. Videos circulated online showed that police forced the 12 transgender women to dress as men, shaved their heads and berated them about not being masculine. Calls to the mobile numbers of some of the transgender women were answered by activists or relatives.

Source: National Post February 02, 2018 12:07 UTC