Herawati Nurlia – Amnesty International Indonesia has highlighted the series of incidents of terror and threats that have befallen activists from the University of Indonesia Student Executive Council (BEM UI).
The human rights institution believes that these incidents are not just related to an internal campus conflict, but a direct threat to freedom of expression and democratic space for the student movement.
Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid stated that the terror against BEM UI activists had the potential to silence students' critical voices in overseeing the running of the government.
He considers this pattern of threats to be similar to the intimidation previously experienced by environmental activists and social media influencers after voicing criticisms of state policies.
According to Amnesty, this terror cannot be narrowed down to the dynamics of the BEM UI General Election (Pemira) alone. Furthermore, these threats are suspected to be a systematic effort to weaken the student movement which has been acting as a check on power.
In this context, it is considered reasonable for students to raise questions about alleged interference by certain parties, including the state, in the activities of student organisations.
Amnesty is urging the government and law enforcement officials to immediately and thoroughly investigate all terror attacks, both those experienced by UI students and similar cases against activists and civilians in recent times.
Hamid emphasised that this kind of terror aims to create a deterrent effect that is dangerous for the climate of freedom of expression.
"If campuses are allowed to live in an atmosphere of fear, academic freedom will slowly die. The impact will not only be felt by students, but also the wider community because the civil movement will also be weakened", said Hamid in an official statement on Tuesday January 20.
Amnesty also believes that the formation of an internal investigation team by the UI Chancellor is a positive first step, but this cannot replace the role of the state. A thorough investigation by the authorities is considered absolutely necessary to reveal the perpetrators and intellectual actors behind these physical and digital threats.
The series of reported terror attacks include doxing, account hacking, death threats and sending mysterious packages to a number of students.
The elected chairperson and deputy chairperson of BEM UI reportedly received serious intimidation, including messages with threats of armed retribution, sending COD packages worth millions of rupiah as well as terror against their family members.
In addition to this, BEM officials and a number of other UI students who simply voiced opinions or shared posts in the discussion about the BEM UI General Election on social media also admitted to being victims of digital attacks and unknown terror packages. This situation has caused widespread concern in the campus environment.
Amnesty highlighted that this terror occurred in tandem with the strengthening of restrictions on freedom of expression using articles in the revised Criminal Code (KUHP) that are considered to have colonial overtones, such as insulting the president or state institutions. Amnesty emphasised that this practice should not be normalised in a democratic country.
– The Amnesty International Indonesia statement can be read here: https://www.amnesty.id/kabar-terbaru/siaran-pers/ungkap-pelaku-teror-ke-aktivis-bem-ui/01/2026/
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Teror ke Aktivis BEM UI Meningkat, Amnesty Desak Negara Ungkap Dalang Ancaman".]
