Indonesian NGOs Raise Alarm Over Intimidation of Netizens by Islamic Groups

A coalition advocating free speech and human rights is alerting the Indonesian public and authorities to a rash of cases where supporters of a hardline Muslim group have allegedly intimidated people for posting online content critical of the organization’s leader.

This week the Anti-Persecution Coalition held a news conference to air concerns over cases of harassment against social media users by members of the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI) and other groups. The coalition says these have become more frequent following the arrest last year of then-Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama on blasphemy charges.

The coalition of more than a dozen local NGOs said at least 59 cases of intimidation by the FPI and others have been recorded this year alone.

“Based on this data, we think it is necessary to be alert to this kind of mistreatment,” Damar Juniarto, the regional coordinator of the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet), a member of the coalition, told the news conference in Jakarta on Thursday.

Cases that have made headlines include the alleged harassment of a female physician, Fiera Lovita, over a Facebook post that FPI members deemed as insulting to their leader, Rizieq Shihab. Additionally, a video recording that has gone viral shows alleged FPI supporters slapping a 15-year-old ethnic Chinese Indonesian boy for posting online comments that were seen as criticizing or making fun of Rizieq.

The fugitive Rizieq is wanted by Indonesian police on suspicion of violating Indonesia’s anti-pornography law by exchanging lewd images with a woman through text messages.

Ahok, another member of Indonesia’s ethnic Chinese-Christian minority, recently lost the Jakarta gubernatorial election and last month was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison over alleged anti-Muslim comments. Critics of Ahok had wanted him to receive a stricter sentence.

“There are plenty of people who have lost trust in the legal system … but it doesn’t give them the right to take matters into their own hands and resort to violence and intimidation,” Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation (YLBHI) Director Asfinawati told BenarNews. The foundation, which belongs to the coalition, has set up a hotline number for victims of harassment to call or send text messages.