Rakhmat Nur Hakim, Jakarta – The Indonesian police (Polri) were the institution which the public reported most to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) in 2019. As many as 744 public complaints received by Komnas HAM questioned the police’s performance.

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) recorded 38 cases of religious blasphemy between January and May, 2020.

YLBHI Chairperson Asfinawati revealed that there were three pieces of legislation which were used to indict people in these cases.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) is urging the government to halt the involvement of the TNI (Indonesian military) in disciplining people for violating Covid-19 health protocols at crowded locations. The presence of TNI members shows that the government intends to handle the Covid-19 pandemic with a security approach.

Jakarta – Former Banjarhits.id chief editor Diananta Putra has been detained at the South Kalimantan regional police (Polda Kalsel) detention centre since Monday May 4.

Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia is calling for the release of 13 South Maluku Republic (RMS) activists who were arrested for commemorating the anniversary of the separatist group. Aside from being inappropriate amid the corona virus pandemic, the arrests are a violation of freedom of expression.

Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition from the Indonesian People’s Faction (FRI) is asking the government to evaluate the performance of the police during the corona virus (Covid-19) epidemic. According to the FRI, a number of activists have been intimidated and terrorised.

Adam Prireza, Jakarta – The Papua Advocacy Team believes that the panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court were desperately looking for a way to justify why the protest action by six Papuan activists in August last year was an act of treason.

Jakarta – Three students have been declared suspects after spray painting graffiti on several walls in the East Java city of Malang reading “Tegalrejo in Motion” and calling for resistance against greedy investors or capitalists.

Jakarta – The public prosecutor has demanded that six Papuan activists each be sentenced to one year and five months in jail. The prosecutor said that the six defendants had been proven to have violated Article 106 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph 1 of KUHP 1 on treason.

Lugas Subarkah, Jogja – Continued cultural and systemic gender based oppression does not just befall women but other vulnerable groups as well. In response to this, a number of organisations in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta took to the streets on International Women’s Day (IWD) to call for equality and gender justice.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The Yogyakarta Independent Journalist Alliance (AJI) is urging that the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence (RUU PKS) be ratified immediately.

Adi Ahdiat, Jakarta – The Pantau Foundation – a Jakarta-based journalism research and training organisation – has given this year’s Oktovianus Pogau Award to Yael Sinaga and Widiya Hastuti, two student journalists from the North Sumatra University (USU) in Medan.

Jakarta – As many as 40 people’s organisations and civil society groups from the Indonesian People’s Faction (Fraksi Rakyat Indonesia, FRI) have expressed their opposition to the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation or RUU Cilaka.

Muhammad Ridwan – The administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has now been working for 100 days of Widodo’s second term in office.

Bambang Noroyono, Jakarta – The level of violence against journalists has remained high throughout 2019. The Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers) revealed that it recorded 85 cases of violence against media workers in 2019. LBH Pers Director Ade Wahyudin says that these cases have claimed as many as 79 victims.

Muhammad Ridwan – Amnesty International Indonesia has responded to a case involving an interfaith activist from West Sumatra, Sudarto, who has been charged with hate speech. Amnesty believes that Sudarto was in fact defending religious minorities’ right to worship.

Jakarta – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan became the target of subtle insinuations by Jakarta Archbishop Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo after he visited the Cathedral in Central Jakarta for Christmas evening mass on Tuesday December 24.

He insinuated that Baswedan “turned up all of a sudden” in the middle of the Christmas church mass.

Resky Novianto, Adi Ahdiat, Jakarta – Throughout 2019, most of the violence against journalists in Indonesia was committed by police. This was revealed in the Alliance of Independent Journalists’ (AJI) 2019 End of Year Report which was released on Monday December 23.

Ahmad Bil Wahid, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has issued a report on the handling of human rights (HAM) issues in 2019 in Indonesia. Kontras concluded that there has been a retreat on human rights issues this year.

Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) says that violations against freedom of religion and belief (KBB) occur because the law is bias towards the majority. Imparsial researcher Amelia says that several regulations guarantee the right to freedom of religion and worship but others threaten this freedom.