China News Agency, Jakarta, December 6 (Reporter Lin Yongchuan) The Indonesian National Assembly plenary session reviewed and approved the country's criminal law amendment on the 6th. Acts such as cohabitation before marriage, extramarital sex, and insulting the president will be held criminally responsible.
According to Indonesia’s official Antara News Agency and many other media, compared with the current criminal law, the amendment to the criminal law passed on the same day newly added provisions that sex outside marriage is listed as a criminal offense and can be sentenced to a maximum of one year in prison; unmarried cohabitation may be punished. Sentenced to six months in prison; women who undergo abortions, other than victims of rape, can face up to four years in prison.
The above crimes can only be charged by close relatives and other relatives, and the charges made by outsiders are invalid.
The amendment to the penal code stipulates that insulting the president or state institutions is also classified as a criminal offense, punishable by up to three years in prison.
The crime of insulting the president can only be charged by the president himself.
Indonesia's current criminal law was enacted during the Dutch colonial period.
Indonesia has not overhauled its penal code since independence from Dutch rule.
In 2019, the Indonesian government submitted a draft criminal law amendment to Congress, which triggered protests across the country at that time, and even police-civilian conflicts occurred in the capital Jakarta and other places.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo was forced to withdraw the draft and asked the Ministry of Justice to listen to public opinion and amend some provisions.
This time, the Indonesian Parliament reconsidered the amendment to the criminal law. Some civil society groups pointed out that if the amendment was passed, it would be a "setback for democracy" in Indonesia.
On the 5th, small-scale rallies and protests took place in many places in Indonesia.
On the same day, after the amendment of the Criminal Law was passed, Yasonna, the Minister of Law and Human Rights of Indonesia, stated in the National Assembly that citizens have the democratic right to express their opinions. If they have any objections to the adoption of the Amendment to the Criminal Law, they can file a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court of the country. .
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