Indonesia activist dies after setting himself ablaze

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- An Indonesian student activist has died after setting himself on fire in front of the presidential palace, police said Sunday. 

Sondang Hutagalung, 22, set himself ablaze across from the palace in downtown Jakarta.

Police Col. Angesta Romano Yoyol said that the man died late Saturday at the hospital where he was being treated for burns over 98 percent of his body.

Hutagalung, a law student, was a well-known rights advocate. However, it was still unclear what he was protesting with his self-immolation on Wednesday. Yoyol said a police are investigating.

The activist was last seen joining a Sept. 7 protest demanding justice for Munir Thalib, a prominent activist who died in 2004 of arsenic poisoning during a flight with national carrier Garuda.

Read more content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Discuss this post

Now that's what I call protesting. The OWS supporters could learn something from this man. Dedication to his cause, whatever it might be.

Notice how he did it in front of the presidential palace and not a public park.

    Reply#1 - Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:23 AM EST

    I only clicked on this story due to Slef. WTF?

      Reply#3 - Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:55 AM EST

      Do journalists no longer have spell check on their computers?

        Reply#4 - Sun Dec 11, 2011 5:32 AM EST

        Indonesia is no where near as bad as Lybia, Egypt? One of those ME places. Where the guy immolated himself. It usually helps to have some followers of your cause before you decide to become a Martyr.

          Reply#5 - Tue Dec 13, 2011 1:28 AM EST
          You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead.
          As a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.