Indonesia mayor uses UK serial rape case to harass LGBTQ community

Reynhard Sinaga (Photo: Crown Prosecution Service)

A mayor in West Java, Indonesia, has been criticized by human rights activists for using the imprisonment of a gay, serial rapist in the UK to harass local LGBTQ people.

Last week, Reynhard Sinaga, 36, was sentenced in Manchester, England, to life in prison for raping 48 men. Police believe he may have assaulted up to 195 men or more but have not been able to identify at least 70 of his victims.

Related: Man sentenced to life in prison for raping dozens of men

Sinaga was a mature doctoral student from Indonesia. He relocated to the UK for his studies in 2007. During his trial and subsequent media coverage, a picture emerged of a serial predator who took particular pleasure in drugging and raping straight men.

Sinaga came from a wealthy Indonesian family. It’s believed part of his motivation for moving abroad to study was because of the anti-LGBTQ atmosphere in Indonesia, where being gay is taboo.

One of the PhD thesis Sinaga wrote as a student was entitled, “Sexuality and everyday transnationalism. South Asian gay and bisexual men in Manchester.”

In Manchester, he worked briefly in a gay bar but primarily lived off money sent to him by his family. Since news of his trial broke, one man has spoken to the press about meeting Sinaga on a Tinder date but leaving early because he found him “weird.”

Last week, British police said Sinaga was the most prolific rapist to ever face justice in the British courts – and possibly the world.

The case has been widely reported upon in Indonesia. Homosexuality is not illegal in most parts of the Muslim-majority country, except for the Aceh region. However, it is widely regarded as taboo and LGBTQ people have no legal protections.

Now, according to a statement posted last week, the mayor of Depok in West Java – Sinaga’s home town – plans to enlist public order officers to raid….

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