ASEAN Regional Coalition to #StopDigitalDictatorship
“
hacked simultaneously: he was unable to receive
calls and messages and had his profile photo
In light of similar
cases, the
criminalisation [of
Azhar and Fatia]
inevitably attests
to the tendency of
public officials to
perceive criticisms as
a personal attack.
73
- Robertus Robet, human rights activist
and member of the Indonesian Caucus
Advisory Council for Academic Freedom
(KIKA)
changed into a pornographic image. Furthermore,
false information was posted on his accounts
which supported the arrest of HRDs Fatia and
Haris, as well as the construction of the Bener Dam
in Purworejo, Central Java, in an attempt to alienate
AJI from other civil society organisations.77
False News and Hate Speech: A Pretext
for the ITE Law and MR5 to Censor Free
Speech
Aside from defamation, ITE Law provisions on
false news and hate speech are also often cited in
cases against netizens. Out of 84 online speechbased convictions SAFEnet recorded throughout
2020, 64 were delivered based on at least one (or
a combination of) those articles within the ITE
Law.78 In 2021, the total number of convicted persons dropped to 38, of which 10 were activists, the
highest since the ITE Law came into effect.79 In
2022, a total of 97 cases of criminalisation were
documented, affecting 107 victims. The primary
articles used to prosecute the defendants predom-
According to Amnesty International, in Indonesia,
at least 35 cases of physical and digital attacks
involving
150
human
rights
activists
and
organisations were reported in 2022.74 In April,
YouTuber Muhhamad Kace was sentenced to
ten years in prison after being accused, in 2021,
of allegedly posting blasphemous content online
insulting the Islam religion.75 A similar case
happened during the same month, when Ferdinand
Hutahaean, a former Christian who converted to
Islam, was given five months imprisonment after
being accused of spreading false information,
including a Tweet about Islam.76
inantly pertained to ITE Law.80 The number of complaints in 2023 increased by 15.9 percent, with a
total of 126 people in 114 complaints reported to
the police. Ordinary citizens were those most often
reported to the police, followed by content creators
and students. In terms of complainants, organisations/institutions made the most complaints,
followed by public officials and businesses.
(https://mega.nz/file/skVBwQQL#yPYVShJLSYM3OHO4gRZ3ZcU9aAGYNBMxO0vP0Cd_XRs).
Article 28(2) of the ITE Law on hate speech was
used against, amongst others, Muhammad Asrul,
a journalist of online news outlet Berita News. He
was detained for 36 days after publishing three ar-
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI)
ticles covering a corruption scandal involving the
Indonesia’s chairperson was hacked on multiple
son of the mayor of Palopo, a city in South Sulawe-
platforms in February 2022. Sasmito Madrim’s
si.81 Asrul was sentenced to three months by the
Whatsapp, Facebook and Instagram accounts were
Palopo District Court on Nov. 23, 2021.82 On Aug.
Indonesia
91