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Indonesian lawmakers are moving ahead with plans to revise the country’s penal code to effectively outlaw sex outside of marriage and increase penalties for women who undergo abortions as part of legislation that sparked violent protests when it was introduced in 2019.
Parliament could begin debating the measure as early as Tuesday. Debate on the proposal could take days or weeks, depending on whether amendments are proposed.
In addition to provisions on abortion and extramarital sex, the proposed changes to the penal code would add restrictions on speech critical of the president and vice president, further limiting the rights of LGBTQ citizens.
Days of demonstrations erupted after the bill was introduced in 2019, prompting President Joko Widodo to delay the legislation to get more feedback from the public. In the end, little changed, a sign of the strength of Indonesia’s conservative religious parties, despite Jokowi’s urging to avoid identity politics going into the 2024 election.
In the last presidential election in 2019, candidates aggressively courted conservative Muslim voters, with Jokowi picking cleric Marouf Amin as his vice presidential running mate. Two years ago, former Jakarta governor and Jokowi ally Chung Wan Hak, also known as Chong Wan Hak, was convicted of blasphemy and jailed after being accused of insulting the Koran. Ahok’s supporters say his comments have been manipulated by conservative opponents.
Lawmakers did have a simplified version of the legislation they could have adopted, but bypassed it in favor of the current bill.
While the move will win praise from conservative Muslims in Indonesia, it could further dent Jokowi’s general support among those who support more secular public policies. Indonesians are already resentful in the face of the fastest inflation in seven years and higher petrol prices after the removal of government subsidies.Trust in Jokowi’s government has fallen to its lowest point since his second term as president began in 2019, a recent survey showed
Passage of the law could also undermine Jokowi’s efforts to attract investors and boost economic growth, jeopardizing his plans to develop a new capital for Indonesia in East Kalimantan province on Borneo island.
Here’s why Indonesia’s new penal code is causing controversy:
freedom of speech
At least 14 articles in the original bill were seen as threats to free speech and press freedom. One of the defamation laws calls for a maximum sentence of three-and-a-half years for insulting the president and vice president. Others include laws to sue government agencies for defamation.
Unauthorized peaceful protests are also punishable by a fine and up to six months in prison. Currently, the Indonesian government generally turns a blind eye to unauthorized peaceful assemblies and protests. That can be changed now.
Additionally, the legislation states that journalists could face up to two years in prison for publishing “incomplete stories,” though it’s unclear what that means or who makes the decision.
abortion, adultery
While abortion is already illegal in most cases in Indonesia, the new penal code will punish women with up to four years in prison for abortions.
Another article in the penal code penalizes sex outside of marriage, punishing offenders with up to two years in prison and expanding the definition to include adultery and sex between cohabitants.
Opponents argue that criminalizing adultery is inconsistent with international law that includes the right to privacy. They also said the law might support public vigilance, as in a case in West Java in 2020, when a mob in a village accused an unmarried man and woman of premarital sex and forced them to parade naked in the post, reports Jakarta.
religious insult
The penal code calls for the prosecution of anyone who “expresses hostile acts in public opinion or desecrates the religion professed in Indonesia”, punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine.
Indonesia, which officially recognizes only six religions, is the world’s most populous Muslim country. The new clause is widely seen as covering an insult to Islam and a violation of Indonesia’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Sentenced to death
The new penal code will impose a 10-year “probation” on those sentenced to death. If during this period, the convicted criminal is determined by the judge to have reformed himself, the death sentence will be changed to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.
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