Indonesian Parliament Ratifies Law Criminalising Premarital Sex

A penal law that prohibits having sex outside of marriage and carries a maximum one-year prison sentence was enacted by the Indonesian parliament.

The law was being debated by the nation’s government authorities on Saturday as Edward Hiariej, Indonesia’s deputy justice minister, said it was consistent with the nation’s principles.

The country with the largest Muslim population is Indonesia.

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The measure was overwhelmingly adopted by the country’s parliament members on Tuesday, prompting criticism from business organizations and human rights advocates who called it an infringement on freedom.

If they believe an unmarried couple to be having sex, parents or kids will now have the option of reporting them to the police.

Adultery and having sex before marriage is crimes that can result in up to a year in jail or a fine under Indonesian law, which is applicable to all citizens.

A fine or six months in jail will be the penalty for cohabitation.

In addition, a three-year jail sentence is attached to the accusation of insulting the president while he is in office.

As for making a distinction between insults and criticism, Hiariej claimed that the legislation gave “the strictest possible explanation.”

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2019’s rewrite of the nation’s colonial-era criminal code was scheduled to be passed by the government, but widespread protests prevented it from happening.

Only a few protests were organized in the capital on Monday and Tuesday, and so far, the public’s reaction to the new law has been peaceful.

The new law still has to be signed by the president, who had earlier encouraged MPs to pass it before the nation’s political atmosphere erupted ahead of the expected presidential elections in early 2024.