Two men detained in Indonesia for running gay Facebook page

  • 23/10/2018

Indonesian authorities have arrested two men, allegedly a couple, for running a Facebook page for the gay community.

The West Java Police arrested the two men in Bandung, West Java, in the island nation's first case of criminalisation of homosexual groups on social media, Singapore newspaper the Straits Times reports.

The men were arrested last Thursday in a house they rented after police raided the property. Among the items confiscated from the raid were 25 condoms and five cellphones, the Times reports.

Under Indonesia's Article 27, Point 1 of the Electronic Transactions and Information (ITE) Law, the two men have reportedly been arrested on the grounds of transmitting and spreading electronic information containing immorality.

The law carries a maximum sentence of six years' imprisonment and a maximum fine of one billion rupiah (NZ$100,417).

 The police's special crimes deputy director, Adjutant Chief Commander Hari Brata, said the suspects "connect and match-make people who want to make same-sex friendships."

Another Facebook page for young gay people sparked controversy two weeks ago in Garut, a town in West Java, which triggered a call from school principals to ban LGBT students at schools, the Times reports.

The Aids Prevention Commission (KPA) of Cianjur, another town in West Java, claimed that the number of LGBT people has increased significantly in the region.

Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population and the Times reports there has been a police crackdown on the LGBT community.

The country's Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra is the only one that officially enforces Islamic law and outlaws homosexuality.

Religious police and vigilantes in the ultra-conservative province often raid homes and places of work and detain people on suspicion of engaging in homosexual activity, Reuters reported earlier this year.

In May last year, thousands of people turned out in Aceh to watch two men get publicly caned for engaging in consensual gay sex.

Amnesty International called it a "sickening spectacle".

Newshub.