GENEVA, Switzerland (5 March 2026) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and the undersigned organizations strongly demand the Central Jakarta District Court to immediately quash the charges against Indonesian human rights defenders Delpedro Marhaen, Muzaffar Salim, Syahdan Husein, and Khariq Anhar.
We also urge the Indonesian Government to cease its criminalization of activists and human rights defenders. Rather than policing social media and weaponizing laws to silence dissent, the government should focus on upholding people’s freedom of expression both online and offline.
On 27 February 2026, prosecutors demanded a two-year prison sentence for the four human rights defenders. The Court is set to issue its decision on 6 March.
“The right to freedom of expression is one of the most fundamental rights in a democratic society. Indonesia could not maintain its position as a democratic nation when it weaponizes its rule of law system to criminalize human rights defenders and activists for expressing dissent against government policies,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.
What happened
Marhaen serves as the Executive Director of Lokataru Foundation, an organization specializing in human rights protection on civic liberties while Salim works as a staff member at Lokataru Foundation. Husein and Anhar are university group activists.
In August 2025, Indonesia witnessed a series of mass protests following the state’s announcement of increased allowances for parliament members amidst mass layoffs and budget cuts across education and human rights sectors.
The protests were met with excessive force by both police and military, leading to more than ten deaths, 34 short-term enforced disappearances, hundreds of injuries, and at least 6,700 arbitrary arrests against civilians.
Following the protests, Marhaen, Salim, Husein, and Anhar were arrested and charged with incitement under Article 28 (3) and (45A) of the notorious Electronic Information and Transactions Law, incitement to defy public authorities under Article 246 of the Criminal Code, and sedition charges under Article 160 of the Criminal Code.
The charges stemmed from the accusation that they posted inflammatory content on social media, which then allegedly caused civil unrest and violence as well as damage to public facilities and injuries to police officers.
The police pointed out the Lokataru Foundation’s social media post, which details complaint centers and a hotline number students can use in case they experience violations, arbitrary arrests, or threats for joining the August protests. The post was meant to inform student protesters on their right to peaceful assembly and for the organization to document any instances of unjust repression and provide assistance to the protestors.
The allegations also included their use of hashtags #IndonesiaGelap (Dark Indonesia) and #ReformasiPolri (reform the police) which was alleged to have allowed confrontational narrative to reach a massive audience.
Criminalizing human rights defenders
The cases against Delpedro, Muzaffar, Syahdan, and Khariq are not isolated.
Over 6,719 people were arrested, with 703 individuals currently facing judicial proceedings for their involvement in the August 2025 protests, according to the data provided by Gerakan Muda Lawan Kriminalisasi under a civil society-led fact-finding commission initiated by FORUM-ASIA member organizations Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation and the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS). This marked the highest number of arrests and political prosecution against activists since the 1998 reform.
At least 70 individuals reportedly received payments to provoke the August 2025 protests by bringing firecrackers, molotov cocktails, and fireworks, the commission found. These individuals were affiliated with an organization that helped campaign for Prabowo Subianto’s 2024 presidential bid.
The commission also noted a great imbalance of law enforcement given the criminalization of students, youth activists, and human rights defenders rather than those who actually incited civil unrest.
This practice effectively creates a chilling effect for citizens and human rights defenders who are merely exercising their fundamental freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.
Call to action
The online posts made by Delpedro, Muzaffar, Syahdan and Khariq highlighted problematic government policies and human rights violations committed by State security actors. Hence the Court must consider how these expressions are protected under the Indonesian Constitution as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Indonesia is a party to.
The Court must interpret the law against incitement under the context of the limitation for freedom of expression. This would require the Court to follow the principles of legality, necessity, and proportionality. Likewise, this should be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
As Indonesia currently holds the presidency of the United Nations Human Rights Council, it must set the highest standard of protection for human rights defenders.
Signatories:
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- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia
- ALTSEAN-Burma
- ASEAN Youth Forum
- Asia Alliance Against Torture (A3T)
- Asia Citizen Future Association (Taiwan)
- Asia Democracy Network
- Asian Resource Foundation (ARF)
- Bangsa Mahardika
- Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan
- Burmese Atheists
- Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
- Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
- Centre for the Sustainable use of Natural and Social Resources (CSNR)
- CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
- Civil Society and Human Rights Network – CSHRN
- Community Legal Education Center, Cambodia
- Defence of Human Rights (DHR), Pakistan
- Frontline Monitoring
- Front Line Defenders (FLD)
- Global Citizen Society, Maldives
- Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI)
- Human Rights Online Philippines (HRonlinePH)
- Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW)
- Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI)
- Indonesian Women’s Alliance (Aliansi Perempuan Indonesia)
- Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR)
- Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM)
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- Karapatan Alliance Philippines
- Kemban Kolektif Malaysia
- Kolektif Semai, Indonesia
- Mad Women Collective Indonesia
- Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN)
- Mandiri, Malaysia
- Muda Hijau Indonesia
- PEMBEBASAN, Indonesia
- Progressive Voice (PV)
- Public Association “Dignity”
- Pusat Studi Hukum dan Kebijakan Indonesia (PSHK) / Indonesian Centre for Law and Policy Studies
- Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU)
- Social Justice Indonesia
- Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet)
- Southeast Asia Public Interest Lawyers (SEAPIL)
- Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
- Taiwan Association for Human Rights
- Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP)
- The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
- Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (WALHI)
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
- Yayasan Humanis dan Inovasi Sosial (Humanis)
