Ezra Sihite & Keyko Ranti Ramadhani – Human rights groups and press freedom advocates filed a motion at the Constitutional Court on Thursday to challenge the controversial new Intelligence Law.

"The law not only threatens citizens' rights for information and freedom of the press but also has the potential for abuses of power and other human rights violations," Independent Journalist Alliance (AJI) chairman Eko Maryadi said on Thursday.

Eko said that the law is filled with articles open to multiple interpretation, including the loose definition of secretive intelligence in article 1, which he said violates and overrides the Law on Public Freedom of Information, passed three years before the Intelligence Law.

The article defines "intelligence secrets" as "information that could jeopardize national security" but provides no further explanation as to what it is. "This is a dangerous article for journalists, because it criminalizes the spreading of public interest information," he said.

Eko added that the media has the obligation to monitor, supervise and criticize the government, but that role will soon be a criminal offense, since the government has the power to label sensitive information as intelligence secrets.

The AJI is petitioning the Constitutional Court to review the law alongside human rights monitor Imparsial, the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam) and the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI).

The groups argue that the law violates people's constitutional rights to obtain information and seek the annulment of 13 articles in the law, which they say should be clearly defined.

The law also states that anyone found to have leaked classified information related to national defense, the country's natural resources, economics or international politics and relations before the 20-year period of confidentiality expires could face criminal charges.

Human rights groups criticized the law when it was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives in October last year.

The law, rights groups said, would give more power to the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) and intelligence units inside the police, military and prosecutors' offices, but would do nothing to ensure that intelligence officers had to respect the law and human rights, be apolitical, refrain from engaging in private businesses or work impartially and indiscriminately.

Under the law, people who access and steal sensitive data can face up to seven years in jail or a Rp 300 million ($33,000) fine.

The intelligence agencies can also monitor phone conversations and the flow of funds of anyone deemed a threat to national security or possibly engaged in terrorism, separatism, espionage or sabotage.

Under the law, the BIN and other agencies also have power over foreigners or foreign institutions planning to take Indonesian citizenship, or visit, work, study or open an office in the country.