Indonesia court strikes down law criminalising govt insults

Indonesian legal experts and activists on Monday welcomed a court ruling that struck down provisions criminalising insults against the government, but said doubts remained over the ruling’s effectiveness.

The provisions were part of Indonesia’s updated penal code, which took effect in January. Their broad definitions had drawn criticism from democracy activists, who said they could undermine civil liberties and freedom of speech and put government critics at risk of arrest.

Indonesia’s Constitutional Court on Friday struck down articles that criminalised insulting the government and disseminating such insults, offences punishable by up to three years in prison.

Experts and activists praised the ruling but warned that other legal provisions could still be used to criminalise critics.

Legal scholar Asfinawati said the ruling was good news, while Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said it offered some protection for government critics. However, he noted that it did not apply to provisions criminalising insults against individuals.

The law defined insults as acts that degraded or damaged the honour of the government, including slander and defamation. It defined the government as including the president, vice president and ministers.

The nine-member panel of judges issued the ruling after granting a judicial review filed by several law students.

The court agreed with the students’ argument that the provisions could criminalise criticism and create a “chilling effect” among people wishing to express their views.

“All institutions, including state institutions, are legal subjects that do not possess feelings, whether of being praised, criticised or insulted,” the court said in the ruling published on its website on Friday.

Usman Hamid, director of Amnesty International in Indonesia, said the ruling was a positive step but noted that most recent cases had used defamation or incitement provisions under another law.

“The ruling won’t matter much,” he said.

Indonesia is the world’s third-largest democracy, but concerns have grown in recent years over what critics describe as an erosion of democratic values under President Prabowo Subianto.

The ruling comes as Prabowo faces efforts to restore public, business and investor confidence amid concerns over the economic impact of his ambitious populist programmes.