The Indonesian Parliament passed an amendment to the Criminal Code, which, among other things, criminalizes extramarital sex for both citizens of the country and for foreigners and tourists. This is reported by the Associated Press, citing a copy of the new Criminal Code as amended.
Once ratified, the new Criminal Code must be signed by the President, Deputy Minister of Justice and Human Rights Edward Hiaria said. According to him, there are many provisions in the new law, so it is impossible to carry out the transition from the old code to the new one in one year, it may take a maximum of three years.
Under the new amendments, sex outside of marriage is punishable by a year in prison and cohabitation by six months, but adultery charges must be based on police reports filed by spouses, parents or children. As Reuters reported, the new edition of the Criminal Code provides for punishment for sexual relations outside of marriage, adultery, blasphemy against Islam and insulting the head of state. If the President reports the insults, it will face a prison sentence of up to three years.
Abortion is also a crime in Indonesia, but exceptions are allowed for women with life-threatening illnesses or rape, as long as the fetus is less than 12 weeks old. The death penalty in the country remains, despite the demands of human rights activists to abolish it. Under the new code, the death penalty will be applied with a probationary period, the judge cannot immediately pass the death sentence. If within 10 years the convict behaves well, then the death penalty is replaced by life imprisonment or 20 years in prison.
The code also expands the existing blasphemy law and retains a five-year prison sentence for deviations from the core tenets of Indonesia's six recognized religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Citizens can be sentenced to 10 years in prison for association with organizations professing Marxist-Leninist ideology, and up to four years in prison for spreading communism.
In 2020, thousands of students and workers in Indonesia took to the streets to protest against new labor laws. Then the actions were held in Jakarta, Bandung, Tangerang, Bekasi and other large cities, about 400 protesters were detained. Local residents protested against the backdrop of a law passed by the Indonesian parliament, which provides for the introduction of a series of measures, which, according to the authorities, will attract foreign investors to the country's economy.
