New law in Indonesia approves jail term for adultery, abusing govt

Premarital sex would be punishable by up to a year in jail under a new criminal code that the Indonesian Parliament is expected to approve, according to local media sources.

In the upcoming days, the Parliament is expected to pass the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP).

“Anyone who has intercourse with someone who is not their husband or wife shall be punished for adultery with a maximum imprisonment of 1 (one) year or a maximum fine of category II,” reads article 413, paragraph 1.

However, if the spouse of the adulterer or the parents of their unmarried children file a complaint, the law will go into effect.

Furthermore, according to Article 144, complaints may be withdrawn before the trial court’s examination even starts.

READ ALSO:Death toll in Indonesia earthquake rises above 300

Prior versions of the code were meant to be passed three years ago, but they were met with widespread opposition as tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against the legislation, which they claimed would have restricted their freedom of speech.

“We’re proud to have a criminal code that’s in line with Indonesian values,” Indonesia’s deputy justice minister, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, was quoted by Reuters as saying.Read more

Cohabitation before marriage is also prohibited, according to Reuters, along with insulting the president or state institutions and expressing any opinions that are at odds with Indonesia’s national ideology.

The meeting between the Commission III of the Indonesian Parliament and the Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights took place in November at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta.

The country with the largest proportion of Muslims in the world, Indonesia, has numerous local laws that discriminate against LGBT people, women, and religious minorities.

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