London, 12.05.2023
Human rights groups around the world are calling the Indonesian government to stop criminalising civil society and human rights activism through anti-defamation laws in this statement released today. The groups, all active members of the Rise Coalition and primarily based in the Global South, are issuing the call in response to increasing concerns about the restriction of civic space in the country.
'These laws have been used to persecute and intimidate human rights defenders fighting for some of the most pressing issues in Indonesia,’ said Mira Kusumarini, Executive Director of Empatiku Foundation, an Indonesian organisation. ‘Civil society organisations must be able to perform their role without fear of reprisal from government officials. Therefore, these laws should be reviewed and revisited'.
In 2008, the Indonesian government passed the Electronic Information and Transactions Law – subsequently updated by 2022’s new Criminal Code – which criminalises ‘defamation against a public officials’. The government and members of the criminal justice system have applied these laws broadly, prosecuting people who are outspoken in their critique of government policies and practices, including human rights activists and journalists.
Betty Sharon, Executive Director of Collaboration for Women in Development (CWID), based in Mombasa, Kenya, added: ‘We the civil society organizations in Kenya working to defend human rights are in strong solidarity with our partners in Indonesia and demand that the government of Indonesia enforce law No. 39 of 1999 Concerning Human Rights and also effectively implement the National Plans of Action for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights – Indonesia instead of using draconian laws to persecute and intimidate human rights defenders’.
At the time of writing, two leading human rights activists in Indonesia – Fatia Maulidiyanti of the organisation KontraS and Haris Azhar of the Lokataru Foundation – have been arrested and could face up to six years in prison after releasing a YouTube video reporting on allegations that senior Indonesian military figures were involved in supporting the mining industry. The African Center for Engendered Security (ACES -Africa Center), a member of the Steering Committee of the Rise Coalition, labelled the arrest of Fatia and Azhar as ‘a throw-back on democracy and a smack in the face for freedom of press and speech’.
Justus Muraya of ACES said that ‘the country’s parliament and the judiciary need to stand in the gap and exercise independence to protect and promote the fundamental freedoms of the people of Indonesia to criticise its authorities and freely express their opinions, in strict compliance with the country’s obligation under the international human rights laws’.
Simón Hurtado Delgado, Team Leader on International Civic Space at UK-based Rise member Rights & Security International, concluded: ‘A robust civil society must be allowed to tell the government it is doing something wrong. We call on the Indonesian government to stop any pending defamation prosecutions and scrap these archaic laws immediately.’
ENDS
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The Rise Coalition is a network of human rights groups, primarily from the Global South, that work together to share knowledge, identify ways governments are harming people's rights in the name of 'security', and take collective action. For more information, see https://www.rightsandsecurity.org/action/collective-action/rise-coalition. A statement by some Rise Coalition members does not necessarily represent the views
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