Indonesia: Civic space regresses with targeting of activists, brutal crackdown on protests and problematic law revisions

In Indonesia, civic space is rated as ‘obstructed’ Among the main concerns are the use of restrictive laws, including defamation provisions against human rights defenders and journalists as well as harassment and threats against them. The authorities have criminalised Papuan activists for their peaceful expression, while protests across Indonesia have been met with arbitrary arrests and excessive use of force from the police.

In May 2025, Amnesty International said that public protests were met with excessive and unnecessary force by police. Journalists were targeted. Freedom of expression continued to be repressed under problematic laws. Research also revealed that intrusive spyware and surveillance technology were imported and deployed by the government.

The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), a leading human rights group, highlighted on 1st July 2025 that students were the leading target of police violence for exercising their civic freedoms in protests. There were 42 incidents of forced dispersal by the police between July 2024 and June 2025 with around a thousand victims. Others who were targeted include journalists, paramedics, farmers, civil society members and activists.

Since March 2025, a leading human rights group has faced surveillance and intimidation while dozens of human rights defenders have been targeted since the start of the year. The military (TNI) law revisions were bulldozed through parliament, expanding its powers, and concerns have been raised on the lack of transparency around revisions to the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP). Press freedom remains at risk due to a new regulation to restrict foreign journalists as well as harassment and attacks on journalists covering protests. Media outlets and journalists have also faced threats for their critical reporting.

A wiretapping pact signed with telecommunications operators raises concerns about surveillance and violations of the right to privacy, there are concerns about the rewriting of history around violations during the Suharto period and the ongoing use of laws to criminalise online expression. There was crackdown on protests against the TNI Law revisions and around May Day. Intimidation and arrest of activists in Papua have persisted as well as repression of protests in the region.

Association

Acts of surveillance and intimidation against human rights group

In March 2025, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders reported acts of intimidation and harassment against the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), a human rights organisation.

On 14th March 2025, three motorcycles with unidentified riders repeatedly passed by and stopped in front of KontraS’ office in Jakarta, in an apparent attempt to monitor the premises. The three motorcycles remained near the office for 15 minutes before leaving the area.

On 15th March 2025, KontraS members received numerous missed calls from unknown phone numbers. One of the calling numbers was identified through the Getcontact application as being associated with a security intelligence official. Late at night on 16th March 2025, three unidentified individuals unsuccessfully attempted to break into KontraS’ office in Jakarta.

This series of acts of harassment and intimidation took place as KontraS was actively advocating against the amendments to the Law No. 34/2004 (commonly known as "TNI Law"), which were drafted without adequate public consultation. These amendments, passed by the Indonesian Parliament on 20th March 2025, aim to expand the military’s role in civilian institutions significantly, including law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, and state-owned enterprises.

Harassment and intimidation against KontraS continued after the adoption of the TNI Law. Footage from a CCTV camera installed by KontraS showed that army vehicles drove by or stopped in front of the KontraS office compound four times – on 23rd and 27th March and on 3rd and 8th April 2025. On at least two occasions – 23rd and 27th March 2025 – military personnel were seen taking photographs of the KontraS office gate from the vehicles.

In May 2025, the surveillance and harassment persisted as two vehicles drove slowly in front of the office, occasionally stopping briefly, and in several instances, documentation activity by personnel inside the vehicles was observed.

Human rights defenders targeted

More than 100 human rights defenders were targeted in the first half of 2025, Amnesty International Indonesia said on 14 July 2025. The group noted that human rights defenders faced arrest, criminalisation, intimidation and physical attacks.

More than half of the human rights defenders targeted in the first half of 2025 were members of indigenous communities fighting for their land rights and journalists. Other human rights defenders who experienced attacks included human rights activists, community leaders, student activists, environmental activists, academics anti-corruption activists and labour activists, among others.

Of the cases that occurred between January and June 2025, the police were the main perpetrators actors while others include private companies, government employees, members of the military and others.

Military law revisions bulldozed through parliament expanding its role

There are serious concerns about the revisions to the National Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia) Act, Law No. 34/2004 or TNI Law that was passed on 20th March 2025. Human rights groups say they will significantly expand the military’s role in civilian governance and weaken legal checks on abusive officials.

The law would enable officials to fill more civilian posts with active-duty military personnel, including in the justice system and state-owned companies. The revisions to the TNI Law would grant the president the authority to appoint military personnel to 14 ministries or government agencies, such as the Attorney General’s Office, National Disaster Mitigation Agency, National Counterterrorism Agency, Indonesian Maritime Security Agency, and the National Agency for Border Management. The TNI Law includes a troubling expansion of the military’s authority in “operations other than war” including cyberthreats, Civil society argues this could justify coercive measures, including censorship, mass and intrusive surveillance, and restrictions on online freedom of expression.

Many are concerned that this will take the country back to the authoritarian New Order period (1965-1998) under former President Suharto, who allowed the army to act as the government’s primary weapon of political control and repression.

Civil society was also concerned with minimal public participation and a severe lack of transparency in the drafting process. Activists who voiced their opinions and concerns over the proposed revision to the TNI Law faced escalating intimidation and harassment, while mass protests under the banner “Indonesia Gelap” (Indonesia is Dark) across the country were met with violence.

The revisions are being challenged in the Constitutional Court.

Revision of Criminal Procedure Code raises concerns

Civil society is raising concerns about the lack of transparency around deliberation to revise Law No. 8 of 1981 on the Criminal Procedure Code or KUHAP. They have been trying to seek meaningful engagement with the authorities without success and say the government is trying to rush the law through.

Civil society groups have raised concerns about the revisions, and in April 2025 highlighted nine crucial issues that the draft law failed to address.

More recently in July 2025 the Civil Society Coalition for KUHAP Reform released a counter-draft. The groups say that throughout the legislative process, the draft law has shown a ‘tendency toward authoritarianism’. They argue it expands the authority of law enforcement agencies without effective control and diminishes the role of victims, legal counsel and citizens in the criminal justice process.

According to the Coalition, their 225-page draft was prepared based on several key principles: protecting the basic rights of suspects, defendants, victims, witnesses, and persons with disabilities; strict oversight through independent Judicial Commissioners; strengthening access to legal aid and restorative justice; mechanisms for objections and rights recovery for victims of power abuse; and the renewal of a democratic, transparent, and accountable criminal justice system. The Indonesian Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Chairperson Nani Afrida also said that the revisions had the potential to disrupt press freedom.

Police law revisions could expand police powers without accountability

Another law in the pipeline to be revised is Law No. 2 of 2002 on the National Police. The bill has been widely seen as problematic since it was introduced in July 2024. Critics quickly pointed out that it contained vague provisions apparently meant to expand the powers of the police force. The problem was that it stopped short of putting in place legal guardrails to keep those powers in check, potentially creating a huge accountability gap.

Despite reports of rampant police abuse, the police bill does not introduce new provisions that could improve oversight mechanisms. Worse, the bill includes provisions granting the police new powers to “supervise” and “secure” cyberspace, even though that authority is already in the hands of the Ministry of Communication and Digital. This provision is extremely dangerous as it could lead to mass surveillance in the digital space. Other provisions grant the police new intelligence powers such as restricting cyber access, a coercive measure that should only be exercised with court oversight, but the bill contains no such requirement.

The Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFENet) has also raised concerns that the revisions grant them the authority to shut down and throttle internet access and to conduct wiretapping. There is currently no clear law regulating wiretapping in the country.

Other concerns in the revisions include allowing detention periods of up to seven days, undertaking search and seizures without court oversight, weakening of legal aid and the role of lawyers.

Intimidation and arrest of activists in Papua

On 31st May 2025, Papuan political activist, Er Giban was allegedly subjected to intimidation and ill-treatment by the police. A police patrol unit stopped next to Giban while he was sitting outside the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) office in the town of Dekai, Yahukimo Regency, Papua Pegunungan Province. Police forcibly confiscated his mobile phone without presenting a warrant. Accused of possessing a “suspicious device”, he was then ordered to follow them to the police station for interrogation where he was accused of affiliation with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and alleged involvement in a murder case. He was then released without charge.

Four Papuan political activists, Nikson May, Maksi Sangkek, Abraham Goram Gaman and Piter Robaha have been held at Sorong City Police Headquarters since 28th April 2025 on charges of treason (makar) and violations of Indonesia’s Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law. The charges stem from their peaceful action on 14th April 2025, when they delivered political letters to government institutions in Sorong, representing the aspirations of the political group Federal State of West Papua (NFRPB). The activists are accused of spreading separatist content and hate speech.

Expression

Indonesia’s ranking in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2025 press freedom index has dropped from 111th to 127th place. According to RSF, under this new administration, whose track record on press freedom offers little reassurance, concerns are mounting over the future of independent journalism. Journalists who investigate cases of local corruption or cover mass protests are often subjected to various forms of intimidation by police or armed forces, going as far as arrest, physical violence and digital attacks. This results in a high level of self-censorship. At the same time, it is increasingly dangerous for journalists to cover environmental issues when they affect major private sector interests supported by local governments.

New regulation to restrict foreign journalists

Indonesia’s National Police Regulation No. 3 of 2025, issued on 10th March 2025, requires foreign journalists to obtain police clearance before reporting in the country. According to the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), this draconian measure is a direct attack on press freedom, reinforcing surveillance, censorship and intimidation while restricting independent reporting. This regulation opens the door for arbitrary denials, harassment, and even deportation of journalists, creating an atmosphere of fear that weakens journalistic integrity.

Journalists say the new rule was likely designed in part to restrict them from visiting West Papua, a province where activists say systemic discrimination and human rights abuses have been ongoing for decades.

The chilling effect will push reporters toward self-censorship, ultimately eroding investigative journalism and limiting scrutiny of political and human rights issues in Indonesia. If such restrictions are normalised, local journalists could be next, accelerating the decline of media freedom in the country.

Media outlet targeted for their critical coverage

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the media outlet Tempo, which has a long history of public criticism in Indonesia, has been especially targeted, apparently because of its critical coverage of the Prabowo administration. On 20th March 2025, Francisca Christy Rosana, a Christian journalist at Tempo who hosts its popular podcast “Bocor Alus Politik” (fine political leaks), received a package containing a pig’s head without its ears, menacingly symbolic in a Muslim-majority nation. She was doxed (her personal information was posted with malicious intent), her mother’s phone was hacked, and a relative received threatening anonymous phone calls.

On 22nd March, cleaners at Tempo’s office in Jakarta found a box of six rats with their heads cut off. This appeared to be an act of intimidation against the podcast’s six hosts, who discuss sensitive political issues and have criticised the Prabowo administration.

Journalists targeted while covering protests against military law

Journalists were targeted while covering the mass protests in Indonesia against the revision of the military law in the city of Surabaya.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), on 24th March 2025, Rama Indra, a journalist with the local digital outlet Beritajatim, several police officers forced him to stop filming them beating protesters and hit him on the head with their hands and a wooden stick to make him delete his footage. They also confiscated his cell phone, even though he identified himself as a journalist and presented his press ID card. He reported the incident to the police.

Police also forced Wildan Pratama, a journalist with the local digital outlet Suara Surabaya, to delete his photos of about 25 arrested protesters at the same site.

On 23rd March 2025, at least eight student journalists were assaulted by police and military forces while documenting a similar protest in the East Java city of Malang.

Wiretapping pact signed with telecommunications operators

In June 2025, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) signed a wiretapping pact with four local major telecommunications operators that has put around 350 million cellular users at much greater risk of being watched by the government.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on 24th June between the AGO and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, PT Telekomunikasi Selular, PT Indosat and PT Xlsmart Telecom Sejahtera will potentially allow prosecutors to access communications by cellular users without legal safeguards. These companies will now be required to ‘install wiretapping devices, share telecommunications data and real-time information’ at the request of the AGO for ‘law enforcement purposes.’

Due to rising criticism, the AGO has attempted to justify the MoU by promising that prosecutors will use their wiretapping power ‘carefully’. However, fear of abuse of power continues as the MoU, drafted with loose and vague stipulations, does not provide sufficient safeguards for the human rights of customers using the services of the four cellular companies.

Civil society has called for the MoU to be revoked and that the government instead focus on passing a law on wiretapping so that such actions are done legally in order to guarantee the protection of citizens' right to privacy, and to avoid arbitrary surveillance.

Concerns about rewriting of history around violations during the Suharto period

Civil society groups are concerned that the government is seeking to erase particularly concerning grave human rights violations such as those committed during Suharto’s New Order era in school textbooks.

In January 2025, the Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Culture, launched an initiative to revise the country’s official history. In June 2025, Culture Minister Fadli Zon dismissed the well-documented mass rape of Indonesians of Chinese descent during the May 1998 protests and riots that led to the fall of then President Suharto. He also questioned the reliability of the findings from the Joint Fact-Finding Team (TGPF), established by President BJ Habibie in 1998, arguing that its conclusions lacked solid evidence and only listed numbers.

Historians and human rights activists warn that the rewrite could omit painful historical episodes and particularly serious human rights abuses. Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, said: “History must confront all aspects of the past, both achievements and tragedies, so that future generations can learn from previous wrongdoings. Such selective rewriting serves the interests of those in power rather than truth and justice.”

Amnesty International Indonesia also reported several threatening calls to a female activist who criticised Minister Fadli Zon’s denial of the 1998 mass rape, and the alleged intimidation against students in Jakarta after opposing the government’s history rewriting project online. A person claiming to be from the Ministry of Culture allegedly asked the university to remove their content.

Laws used to criminalise expression

The government has continued to use the draconian Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE law) to criminalise expression. The ITE law – a vague and overbroad law - has been systematically used to arrest, prosecute and punish activists, journalists, and government critics.

In April 2025, Batam-based environmental activist and social media figure Yusril Koto was accused of defamation and arrested under the ITE law for criticizing the Batam authorities. He is also facing charges under Article 310 of the Criminal Code (defamation).

In May 2025, police accused a Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) student with the initials SSS of online defamation and charged the individual under the ITE law. The female student had allegedly uploaded an insulting meme of President Prabowo Subianto kissing former President Joko Widodo.

In the same month, journalist Heandly Mangkali was charged under the ITE law in Palu after uploading to social media news in 2024 of an alleged affair involving an official in North Morowali.

Court restricts online defamation lawsuits

In an important step towards protecting online speech, on 29th April 2025, Indonesia’s Constitutional Court issued two rulings that provide important clarifications to the country’s Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) law, used to regulate the internet.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), government officials and powerful private actors, including companies and religious groups, have brought criminal defamation lawsuits under the internet law for decades to silence their critics. The court’s recent rulings restrict how the law’s defamation clauses can be used going forward.

The first ruling said that the law’s definition of “public unrest” is limited to physical space, not “digital/cyber space”, rejecting lawsuits involving online posts. The second said that government agencies, companies, or “groups with specific identities,” including religious groups, can no longer file criminal defamation complaints under provisions designed to protect an individual’s reputation.

The petition to review the internet law’s criminal defamation clause was filed by environmental activist Daniel F.M. Tangkilisan, who was convicted in 2023 for “defaming” shrimp farmers operating in protected waters. He appealed and was acquitted in May 2024.

Peaceful Assembly

Crackdown on protests against the Military Law revisions

In March 2025, police resorted to arrests and excessive force against tens of thousands of students, labour groups and activists in Indonesia, who took to the streets to protest, in just about every major province, against the controversial military law (TNI law) revisions. The students called the protests ‘Indonesia Gelap’ or ‘Dark Indonesia’, a term that points to the problems the country is facing.

In April 2025, The Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD) released findings on the acts of repression that took place during the protests between 21st and 28th March 2025. According to their data, the TNI and the Indonesian National Police were identified as the primary perpetrators of violence. The government deployed up to 5,021 combined personnel to secure the protests against the TNI law, including military and police.

Based on TAUD's data, a total of 83 demonstrators were injured and 161 people were arbitrarily arrested during the period of protests. These numbers were spread across a total of 69 protest locations throughout Indonesia. TAUD also documented that 18 journalists were among those who experienced violence while covering the events.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) reported that the violence in some locations was committed by police and military personnel in civilian clothes and by several social organisations.

Muhammad Yahya Ihyaroza, a member of the Legal Division of KontraS, highlighted that this pattern of violence is not unprecedented. He mentioned that KontraS and YLBHI have been advocating for and urging the authorities to follow up on reports of such incidents and to establish a clear legal mechanism to hold accountable authorities who commit violence.

On 23rd April 2025, UN experts sent a communication to the government concerning the alleged violence by police against peaceful protests, especially in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Semarang and Manado, including the use of batons, tear gas and water cannon to disperse protestors.

Criminalisation of May Day protesters

There was also widespread violence and repression committed by the police against peaceful May Day protesters.

According to the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) in commemoration of International Workers’ Day, various labour unions, alliances and civil society groups organised peaceful rallies and protests across major cities in Indonesia.

The groups protested against the rising authoritarianism and poor policies–under the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka–which are detrimental to the welfare and protection of workers’ rights.

The protests held in front of the Parliamentary complex were met with police brutality. The police reportedly arbitrarily arrested 14 protestors - including four paramedics - according to the Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD). Thirteen of the arrested were reportedly subjected to beatings and assault resulting in significant injuries. To disperse the peaceful protests, the police reportedly blasted water cannon and shot tear gas.

One journalist was reportedly attacked in Jakarta. A group of people in plain clothes - who are suspected to be part of the police - also reportedly threatened and forced the journalist to delete their coverage of the protests. In Semarang, plain clothes individuals had also reportedly beaten a journalist from Tempo and student journalists from various student alliances covering the protests.

In June 2025, The Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD) said a total of 14 people were charged under Articles 212 (physically resisting or obstructing a public official performing their duty), 216 (offence of sabotage or war,) and 218 ( insulting the President or Vice President) of the Criminal Code (KUHP), articles that the state often uses to criminalise the expression of legitimate opinions which is guaranteed by the Constitution. TAUD also said that there was an attempt to eliminate evidence of violence by the authorities during the investigation process.

Greenpeace activists and Papuan youth arrested after protest at mining conference

On 3rd June 2025, at the Indonesia Critical Minerals Conference and Expo in Jakarta, three Greenpeace Indonesia activists and a young Papuan woman were arrested and taken to the Grogol Petamburan police station after unfurling banners and giving speeches about the environmental damage and social tensions created by nickel mining activities in Raja Ampat in Papua.

The three Greenpeace activists and four Papuan youths unfurled the banners right when Deputy Foreign Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno was addressing the conference. "The government is responsible for the environmental damage that occurred in Raja Ampat, in Papua. Save Raja Ampat", declared one of the activists from Papua while unfurling a banner. Other banners read, "What's the true cost of your nickel?", "Nickel mines destroy lives" and "Save Raja Ampat from nickel mining" (in English).

Repression of protests in the Papuan region

The CIVICUS Monitor has documented ongoing repression in the Papuan region where there have been longstanding grievances against systematic abuses by the security forces and exploitation of resources by the government and private businesses.

According to the Human Rights Monitor, on 7th April 2025, Papuan students and solidarity organisations held coordinated protests in major cities across Indonesia, called for the closure of PT Freeport and other extractive industries, denounced the militarisation of West Papua, and demanded the right to self-determination for the Papuan people. While some protests remained peaceful, others, such as in Nabire and Jayapura, were met with police violence, tear gas, arrests, and forced dispersals.

On 10th April 2025, a protest by members of the Student Executive Board of the University of Papua (BEM UNIPA), supported by Papuan students and civil society, against the revision of the Military Law and the expansion of the National Strategic Projects (PSN) in Manokwari, Papua Barat Province, was met by excessive force by joint Indonesian security forces, including military and police. Two students, Naikus Alua and Mona Siep, were arrested and reportedly beaten during detention. They were later released.

On 22nd May 2025, a peaceful protest organised by students of Cenderawasih University (UNCEN) in Jayapura City, Papua Province, was met with violent repression by police. The protest, held at the main gate, was directed against the proposed increase in the Single Tuition Fee (UKT). The authorities forcefully dispersed the crowd with physical force and tear gas, subsequently entering the academic premises without consent. One student, Tenis Aliknoe, was injured by a rubber bullet. Police officers deliberately damaged dozens of motorcycles belonging to students, and property of the UNCEN Student Council was also destroyed.