Indonesian police officer claims he was fired for being gay, files lawsuit for wrongful dismissal
- A spokesman for the country’s National Police Headquarters said homosexuality breached legal and religious norms
- The incident has been condemned by LGBT advocates and human rights activists
Maruf Bajammal said his client, known by the initials TT, was let go from the Central Java Regional Police (CJRP) in December 2017. The CJRP claimed TT had left without permission and committed sexual harassment, Maruf said, but he and his client’s access to its report on the investigation was denied by the force.
When asked about the case, Dedi Prasetyo, a spokesman from the National Police Headquarters, did not comment on the grounds for TT’s dismissal. But he said that by virtue of his sexual orientation, TT was in breach of two regulations cited in the laws governing police officers.
“In Article 19, Paragraph 1, it mentions that the acts of police officers must always be based on legal norms and heed religious norms,” said Dedi, adding that officers also have to adhere to social norms of “politeness” and “morality”.
Attack on dancers latest sign of rising anti-LGBT sentiment in Indonesia
The Indonesian police watchdog supported the move to fire TT.
Neta Pane, chairman of the Indonesia Police Watch, said the dismissal helped to maintain the authority of the police. “TT is harming the image of the National Police,” he said.
Hinca Panjaitan, a national parliamentarian sitting on a committee scrutinising legal affairs and national security, said people who were homosexual did not belong in Indonesia’s police force.
“Being gay violates the police code of ethics. It is against the law and our norms. There is no place for such behaviour within our National Police,” the Democratic Party legislator said.
The incident has been condemned by LGBT advocates and human rights activists in Indonesia.
Dede Oetomo, co-founder of GAYa Nusantara, said LGBT communities commonly face discrimination in Indonesia.
“Discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression has often occurred across various fields of work in Indonesia,” Dede said. “We’ll see how the case develops.”
There is ‘no room’ for the gay community, Indonesia says
Andreas Harsono, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, called the case a “setback” for the Indonesian police.
“If we pay attention closely to the two articles of the police ethics code used for the dismissal, it appears that the police officer was convicted of being gay. This is a setback for the Indonesian police,” Andreas said.
TT’s lawyer said his client was standing up for his rights by suing the CJRP.
“He is seeking justice and demanding for his rights as an Indonesian citizen to be respected,” Maruf said. “The state body such as the Regional Police cannot arbitrarily strip off someone who has made no mistake or did not violate any law.”
