The Indonesian Parliament on Tuesday approved a reform of the penal code that criminalizes sexual relations outside marriage with up to one year in prison and punishes couples who live together without getting married with six months in jail.
Members of the House of Representatives have pushed through the bill by acclamation in a plenary session, despite strong demonstrations protesting that the measure would threaten civil liberties in the Muslim country, DPA has reported.
The law will come into force in 2025, three years after its approval, a measure expected by some sectors that described the previous penal code as a legacy of the colonial era.
«It has been 59 years of waiting,» the country’s deputy law and human rights minister Edward Omar Sharief said, adding that the old penal code was «a vestige of Dutch colonial rule. «On Monday, hundreds of Indonesians demonstrated in several cities, demanding parliament scrap the bill. After its approval, more protests are expected, the agency said.
«Indonesia moves down rights-busting path of disaster by criminalizing sex outside marriage,» Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson wrote on Twitter.
Sex outside marriage, including homosexuality, is not currently a crime, but is considered taboo in conservative Indonesia.
The bill also provides for up to three years in jail for anyone who «offends the dignity» of the president or vice president.
In addition, those who insult the government could be sentenced to 18 months in jail or three years if the offense causes social unrest.
The dissemination of false news is punishable by up to six years in prison.
