A protest against human rights violations allegedly commited by the Indonesian government in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2015. (Wikimedia)
In the last two weeks, three Indonesian academics—Saiful Mujani, Feri Amsari and Ubedilah Badrun—have been reported to authorities by various civil society organisations for alleged hate speech and defamation against the government, which constitutes a criminal offence under the new Criminal Code. To note, none of them have been arrested by authorities.
On April 8, Saiful Mujani, a professor of political science at Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University, was reported for allegedly advocating for the forceful removal of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto from office.
A similar incident occurred with Ubedilah Badrun, a lecturer at State University of Jakarta, who was reported to the authorities on April 13, after calling President Prabowo and Vice President Gibran a “burden on the nation” in a podcast.
Feri Amsari, a constitutional law expert, was also reported on April 17, for questioning the validity of the government’s claim that Indonesia has achieved food self-sufficiency.. His statements were considered as false information
These scholars’ statements drew ambivalent reactions from several ministers. Minister of Human Rights Natalius Pigai assessed that Saiful Mujani’s statement could have resulted in “national instability”, but he also considered the criticisms by Feri and Ubedilah as valid expressions. In contrast, Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra emphasised that “[…] the government never sees those who criticise it as enemies. Especially since my model is essentially an academic.” At the same time, however, he added that police are obliged to process reports once they are filed.
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