Surabaya – Police have again arrested two people suspected of being involved in a gay network on social media. They are being charged under the anti-pornography law.
Police arrested two men, a group administrator and a member of the Facebook (FB) group "Gay Khusus Surabaya" (Surabaya Special Gay). The two are MFK (24), the groups administrator, and GR (36), an active member.
Tanjung Perak Port District Police Chief Assistant Superintendent Wahyu Hidayat said the group was created on March 14, 2021 and has 4,516 members.
"The motive was to bring together people who like the same sex", said Hidayat at the Tanjung Perak Harbor District Police Headquarters in the East Java capital of Surabaya on Monday June 16.
The arrests were made after police received reports from the public about a group with a same-sex interest orientation. "Members conducted a profiling and the arrest of the perpetrator, the administrator of the Surabaya Gay Facebook group. The gay group contains content about people who like the same sex or men with men", he said.
Hidayat explained that MFK as the administrator of the group played a role in providing facilities and making it easier for group members to find partners. "Then the second one we secured, brother GR aged 36 years. He played an active role in sending pornographic content in order to find partners according to type by including a telephone number", he said.
Meanwhile, MFK has admitted that he had created the group in 2021 with the aim of just having fun. "The purpose of creating the group was to seek pleasure and sensation", said MFK.
MFK said that the members joined the group of their own accord. Not infrequently, the group members met each other in person. MFK also admitted that he had facilitated several meetings of the group members at one of their homes and some at a hotel.
At the meetings, MFK sometimes received remuneration in the form of cigarettes. He also ensured that the group members were only adults. "The meetings, were sometimes at my own house, sometimes outside, sometimes in a room, a hotel room", he concluded.
The two perpetrators have been charged under Article 54 paragraph 1 in conjunction with Article 27 paragraph 1 of Law Number 1/2024 on the second amendment to Law Number 11/2008 and/or Article 29 in conjunction with Article 4 paragraph 1 of Law Number 44/2008.
"They face a maximum sentence of six years in prison, then a maximum fine of 1 billion rupiah and a minimum prison sentence of six months and a maximum of 12 years or a minimum fine of 250 million rupiah and a maximum of 6 billion rupiah", concluded Hidayat.
Ridden with discrimination
The Surabaya Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) meanwhile has criticised the police's move to arrest the group of people referred to as gay. They believe that the narrative built by the authorities is ridden with discrimination and could potentially strengthen homophobia in society.
LBH Surabaya public advocate Lingga Parama said that they are still waiting for the results of an investigation by the gender minority community in Surabaya regarding the arrest process.
"As of today, Gaya Nusantara and friends from other gender minority [groups] are conducting an investigation first. Starting from who was arrested, how the arrest process was [carried out], then what was the reason for the police to make arrests like that", Parama told CNN Indonesia on Monday.
Furthermore, the Surabaya LBH Is also questioning the reason why the authorities used the label "gay" in the law enforcement process. According to Parama, if the authorities were indeed taking action because of alleged pornographic crimes, this should not just target groups with a certain sexual orientation.
"If indeed the police as an institution wants to eradicate pornographic crimes, then this should not just apply to friends who have a non-binary sexual orientation. That means not just applying it to gay friends", he said.
Parama said that the labelling carried out by the authorities, without a clear basis, was a form of discrimination and a homophobic narrative built by the authorities that has the potential to trigger hatred towards the gay community.
"It's as if the authorities treat them (LGBTQ+) as people who deserve to be blamed for their sexual orientation. In fact, we don't know and can't even judge what kind of sexual orientation they have. That's their right. It's an individual right that must also be protected", said Parama.
"If we talk about law enforcement, we have to let go of the fact that this person is G, this person is L, this person is whatever. If they commit a crime, yes then its sufficient for us to talk about their crime", he added.
According to the Surabaya LBH, sexual orientation is a personal right that should not be the basis for different legal treatment. Regarding the possibility of legal assistance, LBH Surabaya is open to the option of directly accompany those who were named as suspects, as long as no other legal counsel has been appointed.
"If indeed they are not yet being assisted by other legal counsel, there's a possibility that we can get involved. If that's not possible, we can take other advocacy steps, perhaps a campaign, or psychological strengthening for our friends who were arrested today", said Parama.
Likewise, Indonesian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights activist, gender issue expert and coordinator of the Gaya Nusantara Foundation, Dede Oetomo, said that the arrests by police were a discriminatory act.
Currently, Gaya Nusantara together with other civil society groups are trying to provide legal assistance for them. "Don't let them be tried in a discriminatory manner", said Oetomo. (frd/dal)
- Police cyber patrol arrests 4 over Surabaya based gay social media group. CNN Indonesia – June 13, 2025
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Polisi Kembali Tangkap 2 Orang Terlibat Grup Gay di Surabaya".]
