The two year prison sentence handed down against a TikTok influencer who goes by the name Lina Mukherjee, after she was charged with blasphemy over the content of a video in which she ate pork after expressing the phrase "Bismillah" (in the Name of Allah), has triggered a variety of reactions in cyberspace.
Freedom of Speech & Expression
Displaying 1-10 of 422 Articles
September 2023
August 2023
Jayapura – After a peaceful action in Sentani was forcibly broken up by police on the morning of August 15, demonstrators from the Jayapura West Papua National Committee (KNPB) decided to hold a free speech forum at the Zakeus field in Pandang Bulan, Abepura, J
Agus Pabika, Sentani – One person was arrested and scores of others beaten black and blue by a joint unit of police and military when they forcibly broke up a peaceful action by the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) in the Sentani area of Jayapura regency, Papua, on the morning of Tuesday August 15.
Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has recorded that as many as 967 people have been arrested for articulating their views in the public domain.
Kontras said that this data was obtained between January 2022 and June 2023 and covered a total of 183 cases related to violations against freedom of opinion.
Jakarta – A number of activists have had to have dealings with the police or been ensnared by the law after criticising the government. Most recently, academic Rocky Gerung was reported to the police over his statement referring to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as a stupid bastard (bajingan tolol).
Jakarta – Civil society organisations active in the field of humanitarianism, the law and human rights have criticised the use of criminalisation as a method to silence government critics and activists.
July 2023
Singgih Wiryono, Jakarta – During the momentum of the commemoration of the 63rd anniversary of the Attorney General's Office (AGO), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has reminded the AGO to follow up on cases of gross human rights violations, particularly those which the National Human Rights Commission (
Wahyu Setiawan, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition says that the revisions to the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law are undemocratic.
June 2023
Jakarta – A defendant in a case of alleged defamation, Fatia Maulidiyanti, has hit back at a statement by Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment (Menko Marves) Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan who said in his testimony that he wanted to audit all of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Indonesia.
Jakarta – Human rights activist Haris Azhar says that that he was not looking to create a problem with Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan over the issue of gold mining in Intan Jaya regency, Papua.