The acquittal of prominent human rights defenders Fatia Maulidiyanti and Haris Azhar by the East Jakarta District Court for defamation is a positive development and triumph of justice over repression said CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance today. They should have never been charged in the first place.
“The acquittal of Fatia and Haris, following two years of judicial harassment, is a victory for freedom of expression and for activists in Indonesia who have been speaking up against injustice. The charges brought against the two activists was a clear form of reprisal for their human rights work,” said Josef Benedict, Asia Pacific researcher for CIVICUS.
The defamation charges are in response to a YouTube talk show discussing a civil society investigative report alleging links of Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment and several other authorities to gold mining activities in the Blok Wabu area in Intan Jaya district of Papua. In August 2021, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the minister filed a police report against Fatia and Haris.
Fatia is the former coordinator of Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras) and Haris is the Executive Director of Lokataru Foundation. Both are human rights organisations.
In March 2022, after multiple instances of questioning, the Jakarta Police formally indicted Fatia and Haris as suspects in the defamation case under Article 27(3) in conjunction with Article 45 of the Electronic Information and Transaction Law (EIT Law) and Article 310(1) and 311 of the Penal Code.
Since then, they have had to face at least 31 hearings. In November 2023, the public prosecutor called on the court to sentence Fatia to three years and six months in prison, and Haris to four years in prison along with fines.
On 8 January 2024, the East Jakarta District Court found that their actions did not amount to defamation and acquitted them of all charges.
The judicial harassment they faced over the last two years is inconsistent with Indonesia’s Constitution and international human rights commitments, especially under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The EIT Law has been systematically used to harass and intimidate human rights defenders, journalists and critics and restrict their freedom of speech.
The prosecution against them points to another effort to silence critics of human rights violations in Papua. For years, Papuan human rights and pro-independence activists and protestors are often criminalised for treason (makar). Some have been tortured, ill-treated, or killed with impunity.
“The Indonesian government must stop using restrictive legislation such as the Electronic Information and Transaction Law to target activists, journalists and critics. It must review and repeal all provisions inconsistent with international human rights laws and standards. The government must also end reprisals against human rights defenders and allow human rights defenders and civil society organisations to operate freely and safely,” said Benedict.
