Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Insulting the president, in Indonesia

 Sex outside of marriage, and insulting the president are to become more serious crimes in Indonesia.  (The law has a foolproof way of determining if the president has been insulted.)

The Guardian has the story:

Indonesia set to make sex outside marriage punishable by jail. MPs expected to pass new criminal code that will also make insulting the president a crime

"Indonesia’s parliament is expected to pass a new criminal code this month that would criminalise sex outside marriage and outlaw insults against the president or state institutions, prompting alarm from human rights campaigners.

"The deputy justice minister, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, said in an interview with Reuters that the new criminal code was expected to be passed on 15 December. “We’re proud to have a criminal code that’s in line with Indonesian values,” he said.

...

"Sex outside marriage, which under the code could be reported only by limited parties such as close relatives, could lead to up to a year in prison, while unmarried couples would be banned from living together.

...

"Insulting the president, which under the code could be reported only by the president, would carry a maximum of three years. Insulting state institutions and expressing any views counter to Indonesia’s state ideology would also be forbidden."

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