2025 was the most dangerous year for human rights at the global and national level due to the increase in predatory attacks in 144 countries around the world, including Indonesia, said Amnesty International today when launching its global report on the human rights situation.
Amnesty International's report titled "Human Rights in the World 2025/26" warns that the world is now on the threshold of a dangerous new era. This era was marked by predatory attacks by powerful countries, corporations, and anti-human rights movements that explicitly targeted multilateralism, international law and human rights.
"We are facing the most challenging moment of our time. Humanity is under attack by transnational movements and predatory states bent on dominating their dominions through unlawful war and outright economic blackmail", said Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard.
At the global level, these attacks are characterised by widespread crimes under international law and increasing attacks on the international justice system, which seriously undermine the foundations that underpin human rights globally.
Israel continues its genocide in Gaza and expands illegal settlements, escalating attacks on Lebanon and Iran. Then the United States also showed aggression towards Venezuela, extrajudicial executions in its waters and imposing sanctions on the staff of the International Criminal Court (ICC). What's worse is that Russia is also pursuing ICC officials.
However, civil movements have emerged in the world that are resultant in fighting back. In Indonesia, this can be seen in a series of demonstrations led by Gen Z in 2025, although unfortunately this movement has suffered many attacks and state repression.
"The struggle for human rights in Indonesia is part of the nation's struggle and it's a bit strange to say that this is the reach of outside hands or foreign agents, a term that has become popular recently. Thus, human rights is a concept of struggle just like fighting for independence. The human rights movement is a patriotic effort to protect fellow citizens of the world", said Amnesty International Indonesia's governing body chairperson Marzuki Darusman.
The human rights situation in Indonesia
In Indonesia, the human rights situation is showing increasingly worrying symptoms. Amnesty refers to 2025 as a year of human rights catastrophe, both in terms of civil and political freedoms and economic and social justice.
At the beginning of the second year of the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, human rights violations became increasingly widespread, from differences of opinion and expansion of the military that weakened civilian supremacy through to the encroachment on land, forests and the imprisonment of indigenous people.
"State predatory attacks do not just occur on a global scale. In Indonesia, these attacks targeted citizens who are fighting for constitutional rights, such as the right to live decently, to express themselves, to customary land. From the repression during the August [2025] protests, then the criminalisation of indigenous communities, to the acid terror [attack] against [Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence Deputy Coordinator] Andrie Yunus by the [Army's] Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS)", said Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid.
A number of incidents in Amnesty's Annual Report show the state's authoritarian practices in responding to freedom of expression and assembly in Indonesia.
The beginning of the year was enlivened by the case of the Sukatani punk rock group in February 2025, which was forced to withdraw a song critical of the police titled "Bayar Bayar Bayar" (Pay Pay Pay) from circulation on online platforms after being intimidated by the police.
A year later, in February 2026, the album song "Cita-Citaku (Ga Jadi Polisi)" (My Ideals – Not to be a Cop) by child singer Gandhi Sehat was withdrawn from circulation a few days after being released on the grounds of "avoiding misunderstandings".
Then, ahead of the celebration of Indonesia's 80th Independence Day last August, a number of officials issued threatening statements which resulted in raids on One Piece anime flags and symbols, which had become a symbol of disappointment with the Prabowo-Gibran administration.
Authorities acted predatorily by targeting individuals, conducting raids in various cities, confiscating One Piece flags from homes and cars and removing related murals, arguing that displaying the symbol disrespected Independence Day and the national flag. The government even threatened to take legal action against those who participated in the trend, raising further concerns about freedom of expression.
The state also continued to monitor citizens' conversations on social media throughout 2025, where at least 58 citizens were charged using problematic articles under the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law.
"These cases show that the state is predatorily targeting peaceful aspirations even ones that are symbolic such as the One Piece phenomenon. This is excessive. The state is no longer secretly showing an anti-human rights stance but is openly targeting those who speak out peacefully. The government is still against social criticism through various media, including metaphors and works of art!", said Hamid.
Not only that, the President actively targets peaceful demonstrations by labelling them as "treason" and "terrorism", funded by "foreign powers" and "financed by corruption". "This shows that the President doesn't care about human rights. The aim of these attacks is to silence criticism so that the government runs without supervision", continued Hamid.
Breaking point for rights defenders
In its notes for the first half of 2025, Amnesty noted the dangers lurking for human rights defenders in Indonesia by releasing the finding that as many as 104 human rights defenders suffered attacks in the period January to June. The government ignored this warning and the number increased sharply to 295 by the end of 2025.
The fact that nearly 300 human rights defenders experienced attacks during 2025 has not succeeded in moving the government to protect human rights defenders. Yet they, including Andrie Yunus, have reported a series of terror attack suffered since early 2025. In the end, Yunus suffered an attack from the state in March 2026. From January to March 2026, Amnesty recorded that at least 25 human rights defenders had experienced attacks.
"2025 was a dangerous year for human rights defenders. This will again be the year of living dangerously or the year vivere pericoloso for all those who think critically. Indonesia seems to be a country at the breaking point for human rights defenders. Ironically, the state is often behind attacks such as in the Yunus case. Unfortunately, the state ignored demands for the formation of a Joint Fact-Finding Team (TGPF) to reveal the key actors behind the attack", said Hamid.
Continued use of excessive force
In the last year there have been several large protests in which the public expressed concern about poor state administration over several issues, including budget cuts related to austerity, increases in the cost of living and the continuation of large allowances given to members of parliament.
Not only that, the government also passed revisions to the Indonesian Military (TNI) Law, which expanded the military's role in administering the state. These issues gave rise to prolonged protests by civil society.
Instead of protecting citizens' constitutional rights to assemble and express their opinions, state security forces continue to respond to protests with the excessive use of force. This practice has continued to increase as the government suppresses dissent.
Protesters, students and journalists have frequently been subjected to arbitrary arrest, intimidation and violence by police in widespread demonstrations across the country. Between May and July, security forces used excessive force, physical violence and ill-treatment against Labor Day (May Day) protesters in several cities. Police arbitrarily arrested at least 24 people in Jakarta, Bandung and Semarang on charges of "obstructing law enforcement work".
By the end of 2025, 14 of the 24 people arrested were still awaiting trial in Jakarta. Meanwhile, district courts in Bandung and Semarang ruled that 10 other defendants had violated the Criminal Code (KUHP).
In a series of mass actions in 15 provinces, between August 25 and September 1, 2025, protesting against high salaries and allowances for officials, more than 4,000 people were victims of arbitrary arrest and more than 900 people were victims of attacks by security forces when breaking up protests.
At least 10 people died, including Affan Kurniawan who was run over by a police para-military Mobile Brigade (Brimob) tactical vehicle while dispersing a crowd of protesters in Jakarta on August 28. His death has not yet been fully investigated.
"This bitter fact shows that the state still maintains a culture of impunity among its officials. Not a single officer suspected of murdering Affan has yet undergone criminal proceedings. On the contrary, the authorities were massive and fast in processing and prosecuting activists and civilians accused of inciting and violating the law related to the August 2025 mass actions", said Hamid.
The state also built a misleading narrative that the August demonstration was the result of incitement by activists by prosecuting them using the articles in incitement. Their basic rights are taken away by this mass criminalisation.
"The incitement narrative is disinformation spread by the state. The government justified this predatory practice by carrying out mass criminalisation in 2025, including arresting activists", added Hamid.
Abuse of indigenous peoples
Systematic human rights violations continue to plague indigenous communities due to extractive projects under the pretext of strategic development.
In South Papua, the Merauke Food Estate Project took over the living space of more than 40,000 indigenous people without their free, prior and informed consent. This project destroyed sacred forests, threatened residents' food security and was marked by intimidation of activists who refused to have their land taken away.
Meanwhile in East Halmahera, North Maluku province, 11 indigenous Maba Sangaji residents were criminalised, tortured and arbitrarily detained without proper legal assistance just for protesting against a nickel mine that was destroying their environment.
"These facts show that, apart from being marginalised, indigenous peoples often face violence and criminalisation because they oppose extractive and development projects on their customary lands. We demand that the government immediately stop land grabbing, take firm action against those who commit violence, and fulfill the basic rights of indigenous peoples. Development must not sacrifice the lives and living space of citizens anywhere", said Hamid.
Religious freedom still shackled
In addition to this, in the past year the government has still failed to provide adequate protection for religious minorities who have been targeted by attacks. This is what the Ahmadiyah and Christian congregations have often experienced in several cases of intolerance throughout 2025.
In June 2025, the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) suffered discrimination carried out by state officials. In Banjar City, West Java, when regional officials visited JAI's place of worship, banned religious activities and threatened in an intimidating manner to "sterilise" the area of their activities.
In Manado, North Sulawesi, the right to freedom of expression and academic freedom was also taken away when a state higher education institution (IAIN, the State Institute of Islamic Studies) bowed to pressure from the local Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and cancelled a book discussion about the Ahmadiyah by referring to discriminatory regulations.
Christians were also victims of intolerance. On June 27, a group of residents attacked a Christian youth retreat located at a villa in Sukabumi, West Java. Ironically, local authorities actually allowed the persecution and destruction of property to intimidate children under the pretext of not having a "permit to worship".
Violence occurred again on July 27 in Padang, West Sumatra. A mob violently dispersed religious education activities and damaged the prayer house facilities of a local Christian congregation. This violence resulted in two minors suffering injuries from being beaten and pelted by hard objects.
"This does not include the sealing of places of worship which disrupted the Easter activities of various Christians in Tangerang recently. Freedom of religion is a fundamental human right, but the state continues to allow minority citizens to be targets of discrimination and intolerance", said Hamid.
"As the bearer of the constitutional mandate that guarantees citizens' freedom of religion and belief, the state should always be present to enforce the law, take firm action against perpetrators of violence, and guarantee the right to freedom of worship without discrimination", he continued.
Promise of healthy environment not kept
Likewise, in facing climate problems, Indonesia's plans for the next 10 years still rely on fossil fuels with little commitment to switching to renewable energy sources.
In May last year, the government through the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources launched an electricity plan for the next 10 years known as the Electricity Supply Business Plan. This plan projects the addition of fossil fuel power plants of up to 16.6 gigawatts.
In addition, the government unilaterally abolished a plan for the early retirement of coal-fired steam power plants (PLTU). This decision means burying the phase-out plan for fossil-based energy for the 2026-2034 period.
Ironically, the portion of renewable energy was actually cut from 20.9 gigawatts to only 17 gigawatts. This decline fell 22.7 percent below the government's own pledge in the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) multilateral commitment by 2023.
"This policy is a form of state neglect of citizens' right to health. We demand that the government immediately revise this plan. Delaying the transition to renewable energy is the same as depriving current and future generations of the right to live in a healthy and safe environment", said Hamid.
Papua still a hot spot for violence
Violence continued in Papua throughout 2025 and will continue to haunt civil society in 2026.
On April 14, members of the pro-independence Federal Republic of West Papua (NFRPB) delivered two letters on a peace solution in Papua to several offices in West Papua Province. The process of delivering the letters was recorded and broadcast, and included several people shouting "Free Papua".
On May 5, the Sorong Municipal Police (Polresta) arrested four people involved in the NFRPB on charges of treason under the KUHP. The four people were then transferred for trial to the Makassar District Court, allegedly for security reasons.
In response to the transfer, residents held demonstrations in Sorong, the capital of Southwest Papua and Manokwari, the capital of West Papua. Police used excessive force to quell the protests, arbitrarily arresting 23 people, firing live bullets and tear gas. One person was seriously injured by tear gas in Sorong and one person died in Manokwari. Those arrested at the demonstrations were released in September.
On November 19, 2025, the Makassar District Court sentenced each of the peaceful Papuan political activists from the NFRPB to seven months in prison.
"Papua continues to be a hot spot for violence due to the state's failure to correct the militaristic approach they have implemented in Papua. We again remind the state that it must seriously evaluate the militaristic approach in Papua and switch to a more humane, dialogue-oriented and civilised approach in order to realise peace based on human rights justice", said Hamid in closing.
The continuation of human rights violations in Papua shows that the Indonesian government has not fully looked at or understood Papua's problems from the perspective of the Papuan people.
"We have been Indonesianising Papua. It is time for us to Papuaise Indonesia. We have to understand Papua better. This situation is no less than settlement colonialism or settler colonialism like the situation in Gaza. We Indonesians are Israel, and they Papuans are Palestinians. This situation in Papua is a remnant of colonialism that must be abolished", added Marzuki Darusman.
The full report in Bahasa Indonesia can be read here: https://www.amnesty.id/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/041726_AIR-Bahasa-Indonesia_FIN.pdf
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Laporan Tahunan Amnesty International 2025/26: Meski menjadi tahun paling berbahaya bagi HAM, gerakan sipil global semakin melawan".]