Indonesia bans sex outside marriage in new criminal code
Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday banned extramarital sex, |
The new code, which applies to both local and foreign residents
and tourists, bans premarital affairs, apostasy and insulting the president or
expressing views against the national ideology.
However, the new penal code will come into force after three
years. Before it, draft will be finalized and made part of the law before
implementation. Indonesia currently bans adultery during marriage but not
premarital sex because premarital sex was already banned before this new
criminal code, but the law was often not enforced.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, has seen
an increase in religious conservatism in recent years. Some parts of the
country, including the semi-autonomous Aceh province, already have strict
Islamic laws in place, where alcohol and gambling are banned. Public floggings
are also practiced in the region for various crimes, including homosexuality
and adultery.
“All have agreed to ratify the (draft changes) into law,” said
lawmaker Bambang Wuryanto, who led the parliamentary commission in charge of
revising the colonial-era code. “The old code belongs to Dutch heritage … and
is no longer relevant.”
What does the new criminal code say?
The new criminal code is 200 pages long and has been years in the
making.
An earlier draft was due to be passed in 2019 but thousands of
protesters, mostly students, took to the streets to demand the government
withdraw it. Due to which the voting was postponed.
In a televised speech at the time, President Joko Widodo said he
would delay the vote after "seriously considering the views of various
parties opposed to certain key content of the criminal code."
Under the version approved Tuesday, sex outside of marriage could
potentially carry a prison sentence of up to a year, although there are
restrictions on who can file a formal complaint. For example, the parents of
children living together before marriage have the right to report them.
The Code also expands on existing laws and penalties. According to
a draft document, the blasphemy laws have been increased from "one to six
provisions" and now carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Critics consider the laws "devastating" to human rights
and a detriment to tourism and investment.
“The reinstatement of provisions banning insults to the president
and vice president, the sitting government as well as state institutions would
further create a palpable chilling effect on freedom of speech and criminalize
legitimate criticisms,” Hamid from Amnesty said.
Human Rights Watch Indonesia researcher Andreas Harsuno said the
laws are "a blow to Indonesia's already declining religious freedom,"
warning that they could be misused to target certain individuals.
Maulana Yusran, deputy head of Indonesia's Tourism Industry Board,
said the new code was "completely counter-productive" at a time when
the economy and tourism were starting to recover from the pandemic.
"We deeply regret the governments have
closed their eyes. We have already expressed our concern to the ministry of
tourism about how harmful this law is," he said.
Speaking at an investment forum, US
Ambassador to Indonesia Sung Kim said the news could result in less foreign
investment, tourism and travel to the Southeast Asian country.
"Criminalising the personal decisions of
individuals would loom large within the decision matrix of many companies
determining whether to invest in Indonesia," he said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price
told a news briefing in Washington that the US is reviewing the law's content
and noted that implementing regulations have not yet been drafted.
"But we are concerned regarding how
these changes could impact the exercise of human rights and fundamental
freedoms in Indonesia. We're also concerned about how the law could impact ...
U.S. citizens visiting and living in Indonesia as well as the investment
climate for U.S. companies," he said.
"Indonesia is a valued democratic
partner of the United States; we seek to work together with Indonesia to
counter hatred and intolerance," he added.
Albert Aries, a spokesperson for Indonesia's
justice ministry, said the new laws regulating morality were limited by who
could report them, such as a parent, spouse or child of suspected offenders.
"The aim is to protect the institution
of marriage and Indonesian values, while at the same time being able to protect
the privacy of the community and also negate the rights of the public or other
third parties to report this matter or 'playing judge' on behalf of
morality," he said.
The laws are part of a raft of legal changes
that critics say have undermined civil liberties in the world's third-largest
democracy. Other laws include prohibition of black magic.
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