Acquittal of 2 Indonesian activists puts spotlight on law decried as a tool to silence political critics

The case arose after a minister filed a police report against the activists for defamation over an online video

Critics say the Information and Electronic Transactions Law violates freedom of expression and targets many Indonesian activists

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Indonesian activists Fatia Maulidiyanti and Haris Azhar in a court for a case accusing them of defaming Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan in Jakarta on January 8.

Published: 6:00pm, 13 Jan 2024

The acquittal of two Indonesian activists on defamation charges following a police report filed by a minister has cast a spotlight on a law that human rights groups say has been repeatedly abused to silence political critics.

On Monday, a court in East Jakarta cleared the activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti of the charges after they had posted a YouTube video referring to Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s coordinating minister of maritime affairs and investment, as “Lord Luhut” and what they claimed were his business interests in the restive Papua region.

The nickname arose as Luhut is known as President Joko Widodo’s right-hand man responsible for overseeing matters ranging from the Covid-19 outbreak to the construction of the China-funded Jakarta-Bandung fast train.

Haris, co-founder of human rights and pro-democracy Lokataru Foundation, and Fatia, former coordinator at the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras), were investigated by the police in Jakarta in September 2021 following Luhut’s report.

In the video, the duo discussed a research report about several companies being involved in mining operations in Papua including one reportedly owned by Luhut. The minister has vehemently denied the report, saying that he did not have any business in the region.