Responding to the recent raid, arrest and detention of dozens of LGBTI people in a hotel in Jakarta, Amnesty International Indonesia’s Executive Director Usman Hamid said:
“The police’s discriminatory and senseless harassment of LGBTI people, targeting individuals because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, has no basis in law. Those detained must be released immediately and any charges against them must be revoked.
“No one should be targeted and arrested because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. The police should be keeping everyone safe, not stoking discrimination.”
Amnesty International Indonesia’s Executive Director Usman Hamid
“No one should be targeted and arrested because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. The police should be keeping everyone safe, not stoking discrimination.
“We are also concerned about the inflammatory and inaccurate statements from lawmakers and religious groups in relation to this raid, under the guise of ‘defending public morality’. This could increase discrimination against LGBTI people, both by law enforcement or non-state actors. “These hate-based comments both from officials and religious groups must be stopped. The Indonesian authorities must end all discriminatory practices against LGBTI people.”
Background
Local media on Tuesday 4 February 2025 reported that Jakarta Metro Police conducted a raid on a gathering, described as a “gay party,” at a hotel in South Jakarta on Saturday (1 February), detaining 56 individuals.
Three have been named as criminal suspects and face prison terms of up to 15 years under Article 33 in conjunction with Article 7 of Law No. 44 of 2008 on Pornography, as well as Article 296 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) concerning Obscenity.
The Pornography Law defines pornography broadly, encompassing material that contravenes norms of community morality, and provides a punishment of between four and 15 years’ imprisonment for those who produce, provide services, disseminate, fund or use such material.
Ambiguously worded laws on pornography are often exploited to deliberately target LGBTI people, denying them the basic right to privacy and the right to enter into consensual relationships.
Following the raid, Indonesia’s two largest religious organizations made discriminatory remarks about people. Ahmad Fahrur Rozi, a Nahdlatul Ulama leader, labelled the event as “disgusting,” while Muhammadiyah’s Anwar Abbas claimed such activities could “lead to the extinction of humankind.” Meanwhile, Atalia Praratya, a member of parliament, called for the arrested individuals to be sent to a “rehabilitation” to “cure their sexuality.”
The raid came just weeks after locals raided a bar in South Jakarta on New Year’s Eve in which they accused it of being a place of “gay gathering”. Police sealed and permanently shut down the bar in January.
With the exception of Aceh province, which applies Islamic Criminal Code (Qanun Jinayat), consensual same-sex sexual acts are not illegal under the Indonesian constitution.
On Monday 3 February, prosecutors demanded a punishment of 100 lashes for two male students accused of having consensual same-sex intercourse in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh. The Sharia court is expected to read its final verdict on the case in the coming weeks. On Tuesday 4 February, Sharia police in the city of Lhokseumawe raided a house and arrested four men who they said were having same-sex relations.
