LBH And AJI Ask The State To Fulfill The Right To Freedom Of Opinion For Bima Tiktokers Who Criticize Lampung

Illustration of law enforcement. (Between)

JAKARTA - The Legal Aid Institute (LBH) and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Bandar Lampung assessed that the reporting of TikTokers Bima Yudho who criticized Lampung Province violated freedom of expression and was of public opinion.

Director of LBH Bandar Lampung, Sumaindra Jarwadi, said that freedom of expression is one of the human rights (HAM) guaranteed by the constitution.

"The state is obliged to fulfill and protect these rights," he said in a written statement, Sunday, April 16, which was confiscated by Antara.

According to him, this freedom is stated in Article 28 and Article 28E paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia which states that everyone has the right to freedom of association, assembly, and opinion.

In addition, guarantees of freedom of assembly and opinion are also contained in Law No. 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

"LBH Bandar Lampung stated that he is ready to become a legal assistant for Bima," he said.

Chairman of AJI Bandar Lampung Dian Wahyu Kusuma said that in recent years the ITE Law has indeed become a loophole to criminalize and silence people who actively criticize government policies.

"In fact, criticism of policy makers is needed as a performance evaluation. So, the government can take corrective steps. Moreover, the substance of criticism submitted is a fact that did happen in Lampung," said Dian.

Dian also appealed to the government and law enforcement officials to ensure the safety of Bima and his family. Because, not only reported to the police on Friday, April 14, 2023, Bima admitted that his family was intimidated.

"Bima said the party who provided the intervention was trying to silence him. Like the writing on his TikTok, namely Today, my family got intervened and they were profiling," he said.

Previously, the young man from Lampung TIMur, who lives in Australia, released a 3-minute 28-second video on his social media @awbimaxreborn.

He conveyed that he was disappointed with the conditions in Lampung which he said were not progressing. Starting from infrastructure problems such as damaged roads to fraud in the education system.

For this content, Bima was reported to the Lampung Police regarding the violation of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE). He was accused of conveying hoaxes.