Latest news with #ITE)Law
The Star
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Indonesian Law Ministry narrows amnesty list to 1,000 prisoners
Inmates weaving fishing nets at the Ambarawa Penitentiary in Semarang regency, Central Java, on May 14, 2025. - Antara JAKARTA: The Indonesian Law Ministry has significantly reduced the number of inmates eligible to be granted amnesty by the government to around 1,000 following a comprehensive verification of prisoners' backgrounds. During a meeting with House of Representatives Commission XIII overseeing human rights on Wednesday (May 21), the ministry's general legal administration director general Widodo said the list initially included 44,000 names of inmates provided by the Immigration and Corrections Ministry's correctional facilities directorate general. The ministry is working with various institutions, which include the corrections directorate general, the State Secretary, the Attorney General's Office and the National Police to verify the data. Once completed, the list will undergo an anonymous review by criminal law experts. But the number has decreased throughout layers of verification stages, which already processed up to 90 per cent of total inmates. 'Until now, we are still verifying because the data came from the corrections directorate general, and we only have the authority [to use it],' Widodo told lawmakers on Wednesday. 'The number has dropped from 44,000 to 19,000, and now only around 1,000. But we cannot intervene as [we screen based] on court rulings,' he continued. Widodo added that the ministry focused on four categories of inmates to be considered for amnesty. They are drug users who are not dealers; people jailed for violating the defamation article in the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law; individuals convicted for treason without engaging in armed movements; and inmates with special needs such as elderly people aged above 70 and those with mental disorders. 'Graft convicts are not included,' Widodo said. 'But if there are any proposals, they will be considered for clemency by the President.' Last December, the Law Ministry announced President Prabowo Subianto's plan to pardon 44,000 prisoners across the nation on humanitarian grounds as a measure to help ease overcrowding in the country's jails. The plan was initially expected to reduce prison overcrowding by up to 30 per cent. Commission XIII lawmakers urged the ministry to speed up the verification process, noting the worsening conditions in many overcrowded penitentiaries. Authorities have recorded several jailbreaks and prison riots this year, including a case in April in Sorong, Southwest Papua, when seven inmates escaped from their penitentiary before eventually being recaptured. The Sorong Penitentiary is severely overcrowded as it houses 500 inmates, twice its intended capacity. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
The Star
22-05-2025
- The Star
Police arrest six members of viral incest-promoting Facebook group
JAKARTA: Police have arrested six suspected members of a viral Facebook group accused of sharing incest-themed adult content, amid mounting public outrage and increasing demands for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. The National Police's Director of Cyber Crimes, Brig Gen Himawan Bayu Aji, said the six suspects, which have been identified only by their initials DK, MR, MS, MJ, MA and KA, were arrested in separate operations across West Java, Central Java, Lampung and Bengkulu. 'The suspects have been charged under the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, the Pornography Law, the Child Protection Law and the Sexual Violence Law, which carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of Rp 6 billion,' Himawan said on Wednesday (May 21), as reported by He said the six suspects were allegedly involved in a Facebook group called Fantasi Sedarah (Incest Fantasies), which went viral on May 14 for sharing incest-themed content, including explicit narratives, images and pornographic material, mostly targeting minors. According to authorities, the group was allegedly created by suspect MR in August 2024 and had tens of thousands of members before it was taken down on May 15. Police found 402 images and seven videos containing child pornography on MR's devices. One of the suspects, DK, was identified as an active contributor to the group and is accused of selling child pornographic material, charging Rp 50,000 for 20 videos and Rp 100,000 for a package of 40 videos and images. Two other suspects, MS and MJ, were also among the group's most active members. Authorities allege they regularly produced explicit content involving minors using their mobile phones. MJ had previously been on the Bengkulu Police's wanted list in connection with a similar case. Suspect MA was allegedly involved in downloading and distributing child pornography, with police discovering 66 images and two explicit videos involving minors on his devices. The sixth suspect, KA, was found to be an active member not only of the Fantasi Sedarah group but also of several other Facebook groups promoting incest and the sexual exploitation of children. Himawan said the police are continuing to track members of similar Facebook groups. Ai Maryati Solihah, chair of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), has called on the government to impose firm sanctions on the suspects and to intensify efforts to monitor child pornography on digital platforms. "These types of groups pose a grave threat to the safety and well-being of Indonesian children," she said on Wednesday. 'There can be no tolerance for sexual abuse, particularly in communities that not only tried to normalise such practices but also systematically exploit children in the digital space. The state must take stern action to protect the victims and dismantle these networks,' she added. KPAI Commissioner Kawiyan stressed that this case underscores how the digital space can become a breeding ground for child predators if platforms and the government do not effectively regulate and monitor content. "There is no room for complacency. This is the moment for the state to demonstrate that the safety of children takes precedence over algorithms, traffic and digital profits," Kawiyan said. In the wake of public outrage over the Fantasi Sedarah group, the Communications and Digital Affairs Ministry acted swiftly, coordinating with Meta, Facebook's parent company, to block the group, along with five others that shared similar content. Meta said the sexual exploitation of children was "a horrific crime" that cannot be tolerated. The company assured that it had taken immediate action to remove these groups and protect users, especially teenagers and children, from harmful content. "Over the years, we continue to develop advanced technologies to combat this crime and support law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting those responsible," a Meta spokesperson said in a recent statement, as quoted by Kompas. The company stated that such policies are essential to deter offenders and prevent the spread of groups exploiting children sexually. "[Online child predators] continuously adapt their tactics to evade detection. Our expert teams are actively monitoring emerging trends to stay one step ahead," Meta said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
