ASEANEWS HEADLINE-COURTS & CRIME POLITICS | INDONESIA: Authoritarian fears loom as new criminal code takes effect
Activists hold a protest against the new Criminal Code (KUHP) on Dec. 5, 2022, outside the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta . The House of Representatives passed on Dec. 6 a revision to the Criminal Code that would outlaw pre-marital sex aside from other sweeping changes to the criminal code, a move critics deemed as a setback to the country’s freedoms. (AFP/Adek Berry)
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New penal and criminal procedure codes take effect in Indonesia
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Several articles of the new Criminal Code (KUHP) and Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) may erode civil liberties and freedom of expression, especially rights to criticize government policies, according to pro-democracy activists and scholars.
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C ivil groups have warned the newly effective Criminal Code (KUHP) and Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) can undermine civil liberties and risk pushing the country toward an authoritarian state amid growing reports of intimidation targeting government critics.
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The new laws officially came into force on Friday to replace the previous decades-old KUHP and KUHAP inherited from Dutch colonial rule, which the government said no longer aligned with Indonesia’s current legal and cultural norms.
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Coordinating Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Services Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra described the laws’ implementation as a “historic moment”, which marks the beginning of a more “humane, modern and just” era of law enforcement.
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“The new KUHP balances freedom of expression with public interest, and ensures that punishment is proportional,” Yusril said in a statement on Friday, adding sensitive matters are treated as complaint-based offenses to limit state interference in private life.
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He added the implementation of the new laws would just be the beginning of a continuous review.
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Click to read: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2026/01/03/aut
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Yerica Lai
The Jakarta Post- PREMIUM
Jakarta
Sat, January 3, 2026
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