Amnesty International Indonesia: Arrests Of OUR Officials Are For Intimidation And Spread Of Fear

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The arrest of a number of leaders of the Coalition for the Action to Save Indonesia (WE) is said to be an attempt to scare off critics of the Omnibus Law on Job Creation by Amnesty International Indonesia.

"These arrests were made to spread fear among those who criticize the passage of the Job Creation Law," said Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid in a written statement quoted on Wednesday, October 14.

In addition, this arrest is considered to indicate the increasingly threatened freedom of expression in Indonesia and it is an intimidation for those who are in opposition and criticize those in power.

Furthermore, Usman requested that this kind of intimidation must be stopped immediately. The government, he said, must respect the human rights of everyone, including those in opposition.

He also urged the three US leaders arrested, namely Syahganda Nainggolan, Jumhur Hidayat, and Anton Permana, to be released.

This is because the arrest of the three of them is considered as evidence that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has violated his promise to protect human rights.

"The authorities must immediately release the three who were charged with simply practicing free speech without conditions," he stressed.

Previously, there were eight people who were arrested by the police for incitement and hate speech related to the demonstration against the Job Creation Law. Five of them are suspects in the case. Those named as suspects are the majority members of the Coalition for the Action to Save Indonesia (WE).

Four of the suspects were arrested in Medan. They are US members, including Juliana, Devi, Wahyu Rasari Putri, and Khairi Amri. As for one other person, a former PKS legislative member candidate, Kingkin Anida.

They are suspected of violating Article 45A paragraph 2 of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 19 of 2016 concerning ITE and / or Article 160 of the Criminal Code concerning sedition, which carries a sentence of up to six years in prison.