Amnesty International (Autor): „The State of the World's Human Rights; Indonesia 2024“, Dokument #2124634

Public protests were met with excessive and unnecessary force by police. Journalists were targeted. Freedom of expression continued to be repressed under problematic laws. Unlawful killings, torture and impunity continued in Papua. Development projects affecting Indigenous Peoples lacked free, prior and informed consent. Concerns were raised about energy policy and the government’s plan for zero net emissions. Research revealed that intrusive spyware and surveillance technology was imported and deployed by the government.

Background

In February, Prabowo Subianto was elected as the new president. Prabowo Subianto had previously been accused of responsibility for human rights violations in the late 1990s, including the enforced disappearance of activists. There were widespread doubts about the independence of the election process, including criticism of former president Joko Widodo for campaigning on behalf of his son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, despite Gibran not meeting formal requirements for candidacy. The requirement was later reaffirmed in a Constitutional Court ruling.

Freedom of assembly

Security forces employed excessive and unnecessary force against protesters.

On 20 May the People’s Water Forum (PWF) – an event bringing together a worldwide network of people and organizations advocating for water as a human right – was violently disrupted by members of a local paramilitary group demanding the cancellation of the event. Video footage showed the group destroying event banners and billboards and physically attacking forum participants. They accused the PWF of distracting attention from the 10th World Water Forum, concurrently hosted by the government in Nusa Dua, Bali.¹ Not only did the authorities fail to prevent the attack, but by year’s end the perpetrators remained unidentified.

Between 22 and 26 August, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in provinces across the country to protest attempts by the House of Representatives to change the election law, despite a Constitutional Court ruling. The amendment would have reintroduced higher thresholds for political parties to field local candidates. It would also have permitted the son of former president Joko Widodo – who did not meet the age requirement for candidacy – to run for regional office. Due to the backlash, parliament withdrew the bill.

Security forces responded to the demonstrations, known as the “#EmergencyWarning” (#PeringatanDarurat) protests, with excessive and unnecessary use of force and arbitrary arrests. At least 344 people were arrested, 152 physically injured and 17 suffered from the effects of tear gas. At least one person was subjected to short-term enforced disappearance, while 65 suffered multiple abuses, including arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention.² Most of those arrested were subsequently released. Fourteen people were charged under the Criminal Code for expressing hatred and for violence against property. In Bandung, West Java province, a video verified by Amnesty International showed police officers chasing unarmed protesters, striking them with batons and stamping on them. On 26 August, in Semarang, Central Java province, at least 15 university students were hospitalized after police used tear gas to disperse protesters. Children were also exposed to tear gas used in residential areas.³

Human rights defenders

At least 123 cases of physical assaults, digital attacks, threats and other forms of reprisals against 288 human rights defenders were reported during the year. Human rights defenders lacked adequate legal protection, leaving them vulnerable to threats and intimidation. Very few of those responsible for the attacks were brought to justice, with only a small number being convicted in court.

On 17 July, Yan Christian Warinussy, a senior lawyer and human rights activist in Papua, was shot and injured by an unidentified person in Manokwari, West Papua province. The attack occurred after he attended a corruption trial involving local state auditors at the Manokwari anti-corruption court. By year’s end there was no known progress in a police inquiry.⁴

Freedom of expression

In January the Second Amendment to the Electronic Information and Transaction Law (EIT) entered into force and included several changes which were deemed insufficient by civil society. There were concerns that the Amendment retained criminal sanctions for defamation which had been consistently utilized to suppress rights defenders and opposition figures since the EIT was first issued in 2016.

On 8 January, human rights defenders Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti were acquitted of criminal defamation charges by the East Jakarta District Court. They had been charged under the EIT law for “spreading false information” via a YouTube video which reported allegations that a minister and members of the military were involved in the mining industry in Papua province.

In March a ruling by the Constitutional Court declared three articles of the Criminal Code and criminal law regulation on defamation as unconstitutional.

Journalists

Journalists continued to encounter violence and intimidation. During the “#EmergencyWarning” protests, at least 11 journalists in the capital, Jakarta, were reportedly targeted by law enforcement. Incidents involved acts of intimidation and death threats, as well as psychological and physical violence, resulting in serious injuries. Three members of the Student Press Institute in Semarang, Central Java province, suffered breathing problems and lost consciousness due to exposure to tear gas fired by police to disperse a demonstration.

On 22 August, members of the security forces were suspected of beating and threatening to kill a journalist working for the news outlet Tempo, who was covering a demonstration at the Parliamentary Complex. Three police officers apparently hit and intimidated the journalist at a nearby police post and forced him to delete the video he had recorded.⁵ Tempo submitted a formal complaint to the police. At the end of the year, there had been no reported progress on the case.

Torture and other ill-treatment

Amnesty International documented at least 40 cases of torture and other ill-treatment with at least 59 victims during the year. In January a police officer allegedly tortured four residents from Amasing village, North Maluku province. According to the victims, they were travelling to Labuha village when they were stopped by a police officer, who beat and stepped on them and directed others to join in the assault. The police denied involvement and refused to reveal the name of the accused perpetrator.⁶

In March a 16-second video circulated showing a Papuan man being tortured inside a barrel filled with water.⁷ The incident was reportedly part of the torture of three Indigenous Papuan men the previous month. A credible source found that the incident took place in Puncak Regency, Central Papua province, and stated that the perpetrators were members of the Yonif 300 Raider Braja Wijaya Battalion from West Java province, who were sent to Papua for border patrol. After initially denying involvement, 13 officers were named as suspects by the West Java military, who claimed the victim in the video was among Papuan armed separatists who had tried to flee during arrest. He later died and the two other Papuan men were hospitalized. At year’s end, the perpetrators had not been brought to court.

Unlawful killings

In Papua, unlawful killings of civilians continued with impunity within the context of the conflict between the Indonesian military and armed separatist groups.

In May, in its concluding observations, the UN Human Rights Committee raised concerns about extrajudicial killings of Indigenous Papuans.

In August, officers from the Nabire Police Office in Papua arrested Yeremias Magai and Ken Boga on suspicion of murdering a security guard. During their interrogation both men were allegedly blindfolded and beaten with bare fists and heavy tools including a hammer. Yermias Magai died from his injuries. Ken Boga and the family of the deceased maintained their innocence and claimed that the interrogation was an attempt to force a confession. The lawyers for the victims’ families reported the case to the Indonesian Commission of Human Rights for investigation.

In August a New Zealand helicopter pilot, Glen Malcolm Conning, was killed by armed group members upon landing in Papua. He had been transporting health workers from a private company. Amnesty International called for a full investigation.⁸ In September, another New Zealander, Philip Mark Mehrtens, a pilot of a small commercial plane, was released after being held for more than 19 months by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), a pro-independence group in the Papua region.

Economic, social and cultural rights

The implementation of National Strategic Projects – projects deemed to have an exceptional impact on economic growth in Indonesia – went ahead in the absence of sufficient prior consultation with affected communities. In many cases, they lacked the free, prior and informed consent of impacted Indigenous Peoples.

In March, residents of Sukaraja, Bukit Raya, Pemaluan and Bumi Harapan, largely Balik Indigenous Peoples, received a notice from the Nusantara Capital Authority demanding they demolish their properties within a week. The authority argued that the homes violated the spatial plan of the proposed new Indonesian capital and sent a consultation invitation to the affected communities only 24 hours before the meeting. The authority later revoked the demolition order following objections from residents, who were nevertheless required to relocate with insufficient compensation. At the end of the year residents continued to live under the threat of imminent eviction.

Residents affected by Rempang Eco City, a 17,000-hectare integrated industrial project in the Riau Islands, faced similar problems. In September, one year after security personnel violently confronted those protesting against the project, plain-clothed individuals continued to intimidate and assault residents guarding a road in Sungai Bulu village. Three people were injured when they were hit by a wooden plank and a helmet. Posters expressing opposition to the project were also damaged.

Right to a healthy environment

In September the government finalized two major policy documents: the Draft Government Regulation concerning the National Energy Policy (RPP KEN) and the New and Renewable Energy (EBET) Bill. The documents were deemed crucial for shaping the country’s energy policy. While the Ministry of Mineral Energy and Resources and Commission VII of the parliament agreed on the Government Regulation on RPP KEN, parliamentary discussions on the EBET Bill were ongoing at year’s end.

Civil society organizations raised concerns about the two bills, believing that they remained inadequate for a transition towards net zero emissions. In the RPP KEN, the government lowered the targets for the renewable energy mix, adjusting the 2025 goal from 23% to a range of 17-19%, and for 2030 from 26% to a new range of 19-21%. The EBET Bill still allowed the development of fossil fuels, as long as it was accompanied by carbon capture and storage technology. In addition, both documents lacked social impact considerations, leading to fears of further land-grabbing for energy projects and prolonging injustice for communities.

Unlawful targeted surveillance

In May, Amnesty International published a research report detailing the extensive sales and use of highly intrusive spyware and surveillance technologies from 2017 until at least 2023. There were numerous instances of spyware imports or deployments by companies and state agencies, including the National Police and the National Cyber and Crypto Agency. The equipment was sourced from Greece, Israel, Malaysia and Singapore.⁹

The Personal Data Protection Law, enacted in 2022, officially came into force on 17 October. However, the authorities had not fully formulated the implementing regulations, including establishing a dedicated data protection agency as mandated by the law.