Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-021-2013

Dear friends,

Brooke Baskin – A Melbourne pensioner charged with planning to travel to West Papua as a mercenary fighting against the Indonesian government had his matter briefly heard in the Brisban

Well over 1000 people engaged in a colourful and vibrant demonstration calling for West Papuan independence on Manokwari on January 17, despite Indonesian police banning the march and t

Jakarta – Muhammad Fajriska Mirza may become the first person in Indonesia imprisoned for making statements on Twitter.

Indonesia's state ideology of Pancasila has come under scathing criticism for enabling a culture of repression against atheists, with an international rights organization citing a case

Jakarta – A law think tank wants to protect freedom of speech by scrapping articles in several laws that provide prison terms for defamation.

Farouk Arnaz – A pastor was found dead on a street in Merauke, Papua, on Thursday morning with a gunshot wound to her head.

Dr Richard Di Natale
Greens Senator for Victoria

The Australian Greens have expressed serious concern about reports of further violence in West Papua.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – Alexander Aan, 31, a South Sumatra civil servant who was sentenced to two years and six months' imprisonment for defaming Islam after declaring himself an

Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has urged the government to take concrete actions to stem the burgeoning support for the separatist movement in Papua.

AI Index: ASA 21/037/2012

Ezra Sihite – The Supreme Court on Monday overruled a defamation verdict handed down to Prita Mulyasari over an e-mail that was originally deemed a violation of the Law on Electronic In

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The Yogyakarta Police have been reported to the Indonesian Ombudsman (ORI) for their slow handling of the attack by a Muslim organization against Canadian

Jakarta – Human rights groups have called for the release of Shiite cleric Tajul Muluk who was sentenced to two years for blasphemy against Islam.

Jakarta – The Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD said on Sunday that no one could be punished for being an atheist or communist, reaffirming his controversial statement on Indonesia's

Indra Harsaputra, Sampang – Shiite cleric Tajul Muluk described his two-year prison sentence as a politically engineered verdict aimed at alienating Shia Muslims after he was sentenced

Sita W.

Amir Tejo, Surabaya – Lawyers for a Shiite cleric standing trial for blasphemy in Sampang, East Java, have highlighted glaring irregularities in the trial, one day before the verdict is

An Indonesian court sentenced a Shiite cleric Thursday to two years in prison for blasphemy, saying his teachings deviated from mainstream Islam and had caused "public anxiety."

Ulma Haryanto – The Sampang prosecutors office in East Java on Wednesday demanded a four-year prison term for a local leader of the Shiite branch of Islam, on charges of blasphemy.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Jakarta – In what critics have condemned as a precedent that may harm free speech and individual liberty, a court in West Sumatra sentenced on Thursday Alexander A

Amnesty International has called for the immediate and unconditional release of an Indonesian man detained for professing atheism, calling his imprisonment a serious setback for freedom

An Indonesian man arrested after writing "God doesn't exist" on his Facebook page was jailed for 30 months Thursday for sharing explicit material about the Prophet Mohammed online.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – Alexander Aan, 32, a Minang civil servant who was arrested for blasphemy after he declared himself an atheist on a social media website, was sentenced to

Febriamy Hutapea – Human rights activists have called for a court to acquit a civil servant who faces up to three and a half years in prison for admitting to being an atheist.

ALRC-CWS-20-08-2012

Human Rights Council
Twentieth session
Agenda Item 3
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression

Bambang Muryanto, Yogyakarta – The Yogyakarta Police have been urged to be serious in dealing with the forced abandonment of the recent discussion forum, allegedly marred by acts of vio

Jakarta – Even though the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, the nation needs tougher regulations to deal with religious hate speech that might lead to violence, rights acti

Arientha Primanita – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said on Monday that he would pray for Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) chief Rizieq Shiha

Arientha Primanita & Dessy Sagita – Lady Gaga was never going to show up at Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno stadium on Sunday.

Pangkalpinang – Banning Lady Gaga's Jakarta concert did not go far enough to protect youth, according to a chairman of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), who demanded that the singe

Niniek Karmini, Jakarta, Indonesia – Lady Gaga canceled her sold-out show in Indonesia after Islamist hardliners threatened violence claiming her sexy clothes and provocative dance move

Farouk Arnaz – National Police refused to shoulder blame on Monday after Lady Gaga's management decided to cancel her June 3 Jakarta concert because of security concerns – specifically,

Jakarta – The decision by Lady Gaga's management to cancel her planned June 3 concert reflects a government that is weak in the face of intolerant political groups, according to human r

Jakarta – The Islamic People's Forum (FUI), made up of several hard-line Islamic groups including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that Lady Gaga'

After the announcement that pop diva Lady Gaga's Jakarta concert was off, thousands of her fans, who call themselves "little monsters," sent a flurry of Twitter messages to persuade her

Arientha Primanita & Bayu Marhaenjati – Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto did not want to be troubled by an Islamic Defenders Front (FPI)

Arientha Primanita – Opposition from hard-line Muslim groups to Lady Gaga's planned concert in Jakarta should not be heeded by the police, a senior government minister said on Thursday.

Jakarta – Former president and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Thursday that the ongoing Lady Gaga controversy reflected the na

Margareth S.

Jakarta – Members of the National Unity Party (PPP) visited the National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta on Thursday to support the police's ban on Lady Gaga's planned June 3 conce

Jakarta – Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Faisal Basri is calling on police to stand up against aggressive organizations threatening violence over US singer Lady Gaga's concert in the c

Bayu Marhaenjati – More Islamic organizations came to Jakarta Police headquarters on Wednesday to denounce Lady Gaga's upcoming concert in the capital, as the Jakarta Police stuck to it

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Islamic People's Forum (FUI) – a unit of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) – said on Tuesday that Indonesian Christians should be upset with Lady Gaga, an

Jakarta – After a two-hour meeting deliberating whether they would grant US pop diva Lady Gaga a recommendation to perform in Jakarta, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) decided on Tues

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Islamic People's Forum, one of the hard-line groups that has come out against Lady Gaga's upcoming concert in Jakarta, said it had been offered a bribe by

Lenny Tristia Tambun – The Jakarta Police say they were ready dispatch 4,000 officers to secure Lady Gaga's Jakarta concert, scheduled for June 3, and warned the Islamic Defenders Front

Farouk Arnaz & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The National Police revised its stance on the Lady Gaga concert on Monday, saying it might issue the permit the show needs to go on.

Hard-line group the Islamic Defenders Front has purchased 150 tickets to upcoming Lady Gaga concert, which it will use to enter the venue and stop the show, a spokesman for the group sa

Ahmad Pathoni – About 50 Indonesians staged a flash mob on Sunday to demand that Lady Gaga be allowed to perform in the country amid uncertainty about her scheduled concert in Jakarta.