INDONESIA On January 2, 2023, then-President Jokowi signed a new criminal code (The New Criminal Code) replacing the century-old Indonesian Criminal Code (ICC) into law, set to take effect in January 2026.238 The code includes provisions that threaten freedom of speech, belief, and association and undermine the rights of women, religious minorities, and LGBTQI+ people. This law severely limits freedom of speech, restricts democratic processes, and attacks rights related to gender and sexuality. For example, the law includes regulations that do not allow people to discuss alternatives like communism, and prohibit criticism of any leader, as mentioned in Article 433 of the new Code, which explicitly prohibits ‘attacking the honor’ of any good person. Article 256 of the new Criminal Code undermines this by requiring protesters to notify authorities or face conviction, a practice that impacts citizens’ rights to assembly and expression. The new code criminalizes consensual sex outside of marriage, and cohabitation. It also legitimizes many discriminatory regulations ostensibly based on ‘sharia law’. The Criminal Code was criticized by different human rights groups. In late 2022, the government pressured the United Nations to remove a critical statement from its Indonesia website.239 IN 2022, INDONESIAN AUTHORITIES IN CIAMIS, WEST JAVA PROSECUTED SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS UNDER ‘BLASPHEMY’ LAWS, INCLUDING MUHAMMAD KACE, A FORMER MUSLIM CLERIC WHO CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY. KACE WAS SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR HIS YOUTUBE VIDEOS CRITICIZING ISLAM. In 2022, Indonesian authorities in Ciamis, West Java prosecuted several individuals under ‘blasphemy’ laws, including Muhammad Kace, a former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity. Kace was sentenced to ten years in prison for his YouTube videos criticizing Islam.240 Ferdinand 238 Janti, Nur (2023). Criminal Code’s Opponents Turn to Weakened Constitutional Court. The Jakarta Post. https:// www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2023/01/11/criminal-codes-opponents-turn-to-weakened-constitutional-court.html 239 Ibid. 240 Human Rights Watch. (2023). World Report 2023: Indonesia.” Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/ world-report/2023/country-chapters/indonesia 65

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