The new Criminal Code, which will come into effect in early 2026, contains loopholes that disadvantage minority groups. They are trying to survive by networking and strengthening each other.
Author Yopi Muharam December 6, 2025
BandungBergerak – Ahmad Pangarso Agung, Chairman of the Bandung Raya Regional Leadership Council (DPD) of the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Congregation (JAI), still vividly remembers the events that befell his community in Manislor, Kuningan Regency, West Java, last year. At that time, in late 2024, JAI was preparing to hold its annual event, Jalsah Salanah, a large gathering routinely held at the end of each year and attended by thousands of members from various regions.
However, those plans suddenly changed. A few days before the event began, the Kuningan Regional Leadership Coordination Forum (Forkopimda) issued a ban on the Jalsah Salanah. This decision immediately had a major impact on participants who had already arrived in Manislor.
Thousands of JAI members, who had traveled a long distance, were ultimately stranded outside the village. The road to Manislor was blocked by authorities, preventing the congregation from entering the event location. Many were forced to wait for hours, even days, with no certainty about whether the event could proceed or whether they would be allowed to enter the village.
The incident was not just a cancellation of an event for Ahmad, but also a stark illustration of the discrimination his community still faces today.
Ahmad’s concerns remain unabated. The enactment of the new Criminal Code in early 2026 is the root cause . He fears the new code will marginalize vulnerable minority groups like his community .
“There really isn’t a direct (article) ,” he said , Sunday, November 9, 2025. “I don’t know how the language will be twisted later.”
Ahmad felt he had been practicing his faith . This practice was neither a crime nor a violation of the law.
Facing the implementation of the Indonesian Criminal Code, the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Congregation must be prepared. They must strengthen their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as part of risk mitigation should anything happen. These SOPs include prioritizing dialogue, documenting every incident , and refraining from resistance.
For example, said Ahmad, in 2008 when the Ahmadiyah mosque was burned down in Parakansalah, Sukabumi , they did not put up any resistance but rather prioritized dialogue.
Ahmad believes that all unlawful acts can be resolved through legal channels. Therefore, they collaborate closely with legal aid institutions like LBH Bandung for case handling and advocacy.
“Because we hope there will be justice,” he stressed.
Ahmad hopes that the Criminal Code can bring justice to all citizens, including the Ahmadiyah congregation .
It is known that the Criminal Code (KUHP) contains several articles that regulate religion. Articles 300–305 of the Criminal Code regulate criminal acts related to religion and belief. Article 300 prohibits hate speech against religion or belief, Article 301 regulates the dissemination of such speech, and Article 302 prohibits incitement to non-religion. Articles 303–305 punish acts that disrupt religious activities or damage religious facilities, including houses of worship and their leaders.
Although it appears to protect believers, there are concerns that these articles will be misused to criminalize minority groups, as is the concern of Jujun , not his real name , a Shia believer in Bandung City .
Jujun still remembers the events that befell the Shia group in Sampang, East Java , in 2011 and 2012. At that time, Shia followers were attacked by an unknown group. Dozens of Shia residents were displaced and injured .
Their leader , Tajul Muluk, is in prison after being found guilty of blasphemy. Tajul was charged under Article 156(a) of the old Criminal Code on blasphemy.
The incident worried Jujun when he learned that the new Criminal Code would be implemented starting next year. “Criminalization could happen, as happened to my friends who follow the Ahlul Bayt there (Sampang),” he told BandungBergerak on Friday, November 7, 2025.
“Every group, every individual, can interpret (the Criminal Code) very broadly,” he explained.
Articles in the Criminal Code become even more dangerous when authorities don’t fully understand their interpretation. In Bandung itself, while there haven’t been similar actions in Sampang , intimidation against Shia groups frequently occurs .
Every year the Shia group often commemorates the day of Ashura , the main commemoration and day of deep mourning to commemorate the killing of Imam Hussein (grandson of the Prophet Muhammad) along with his family and friends in the Battle of Karbala on the 10th of Muharram.
Jujun recalls that the Ashura commemoration in Bandung has been disturbed by intolerant groups four times . In response to this series of incidents, coupled with the new Criminal Code , Jujun emphasized that his group will not remain silent. He is intensively conducting legal mitigation training and networking with various groups. The goal is to prevent the criminalization that he fears will befall his group.
“So collaboration can open up other pathways that create safe spaces,” he explained.
He hopes the New Criminal Code can be a protective barrier, not the opposite. “Well, I hope this Criminal Code can actually help, not be used to restrict , ” he said.
Representatives from cross-issue diversity groups expressed disappointment over the absence of the West Java gubernatorial candidate pair from the Ngariung event at the Jayakarta Suites Hotel, Bandung, Thursday, November 21, 2024. (Photo: Awla Rajul/BandungBergerak)
Discrimination Ensnares Minority Groups
Under the old Criminal Code, legal cases involving minority groups were common in Indonesia. One notable case involved Meiliana, a woman from Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra, who was detained for complaining about the volume of a mosque’s loudspeaker .
In 2016, Meiliana was charged under Article 156a of the old Criminal Code for blasphemy , and sentenced to 18 months in prison. She was detained on May 30, 2018, and was finally released on parole on May 21, 2019, after serving approximately one year.
The case was mentioned by Albertus Patty, a pastor from the Maulana Yusuf Indonesian Christian Church as a reflection on the implementation of the new Criminal Code , during a seminar at the Pentecostal Mission Church (GUP), Bandung, Monday, November 24, 2025.
The seminar entitled ‘The New Criminal Code and Its Impact on Religious Freedom and Church Life’ is an initiative of a number of church associations in Bandung City in collaboration with the Interfaith Network (Jakatarub) to respond to the enactment of the new Criminal Code.
Patty stated that Meiliana’s case was not against the law but was being turned into a religious issue. She argued that the court at the time used the concept of hurt religious feelings, rather than considering the actual issue. In this case, Patty believes the state failed to protect the rights of minority citizens.
Patty also touched on the case of influencer Lina Mukherjee in 2023, charged with blasphemy. Lina was arrested for uploading a video of herself eating pork skin while saying “Bismillah.”
Lina was charged under Article 45 paragraph 2 of the ITE Law and sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 250 million rupiah or three months in prison by the Palembang District Court because she was deemed to have deliberately spread information that incited hatred based on religion.
According to Patty, Lina’s actions were personal expressions with no intention of offending any particular group. Her legal proceedings were even triggered by social media virality and public pressure. The Palembang woman was finally released on parole in November 2024 after serving one year and six months.
In both cases, Patty cited asymmetric law enforcement , meaning that reports from the majority group directly triggered swift action. Furthermore, she noted that the law is often applied in a non-neutral manner.
He touched on the provisions on religion in the new Criminal Code. The blasphemy article , which previously targeted minority groups, is no longer used in the new Criminal Code. However, he believes the substance of the old issues remains. He also highlighted Articles 300-305 on religion and belief, which protect religion more than its adherents. Similarly, Article 300 of the Criminal Code is considered open to multiple interpretations and could be used to criminalize minority groups.
Although the new Criminal Code is claimed to be better, Patty stated that freedom of religion and belief for vulnerable groups still exists. “Minorities are the most easily criminalized,” she stressed.
Meanwhile, Paulus Wijono, a pastor from the West Java chapter of the Indonesian Christian Association (PGIW), emphasized the importance of early education and outreach regarding the new Criminal Code . He noted that several aspects require attention to better understand the multi-interpretable articles.
“Our concerns shouldn’t be overblown, but we also need to fully understand the articles considered to be ambiguous,” he explained.
Mitigation Efforts
Risdo Simangunsong, Presidium of the Interfaith Network (Jakatarub), acknowledged that vulnerable groups have frequently faced repressive actions from intolerant groups since the old Criminal Code. Therefore, he emphasized the importance of adequate legal understanding in facing the implementation of the new Criminal Code.
As an organization focused on promoting interfaith harmony, Jakatarub continues to increase community awareness and capacity to mitigate potential violations—including building a paralegal network, understanding regulations, and encouraging a more humane interpretation of the law.
Jakatarub also collaborates with law enforcement officials and regularly holds training and workshops for vulnerable groups to strengthen their understanding of legal issues and intolerance.
“Jakatarub will definitely develop so that communities are more aware (of vulnerable issues),” said Risdo.
However, according to the data, violations of freedom of religion and belief in Indonesia still face a difficult road. A 2024 study by the SETARA Institute showed that West Java again ranked highest in violations of Freedom of Religion/Belief (KBB), with 38 incidents, although this was down from 47 cases in 2023. Following it were East Java with 34 incidents, Jakarta with 31, North Sumatra with 29, South Sulawesi with 18, and Banten with 17.
Nationally, there were 260 incidents and 402 acts of KBB violations throughout 2024. This number fluctuated between provinces.
“West Java is one of the provinces that has almost consistently been in the top 5 for cases of KBB violations over the past 18 years,” wrote the SETARA Institute report, accessed Friday, December 1, 2025.
The state actors most involved included local governments (50 actions), police (30), Satpol PP (21), as well as 10 actions each by the TNI and the prosecutor’s office, and 6 actions by Forkopimda.
Violations by non-state actors were also high: religious organizations (49 acts), citizen groups (40), individual citizens (28), the Indonesian Ulema Council (21), general organizations (11), other individuals (11), and community leaders (10). The total number of violations increased sharply from the previous year, which recorded 217 incidents and 329 acts.
Discussion activities of the Indonesian Ahmadiyya Congregation for women’s groups at the 2025 National Amsaw Gathering event. Held on January 24-25, 2025 in Bogor City (Photo: Yumna Tahira)
Rejected at Birth
The Criminal Code (KUHP) was not born in a vacuum. This law faced intense protests and rejection from civil society organizations. In September 2019, a wave of large-scale demonstrations erupted because the draft Criminal Code contained articles that restricted freedom of expression and strictly regulated private matters such as adultery and cohabitation. The public demanded that articles that potentially restricted citizens’ freedom of expression be removed. The government then postponed deliberations until 2022.
However, on December 6, 2022, the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) passed the Draft Criminal Code (RKUHP), which was later enacted as Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code. Several articles deemed to restrict freedom of expression were retained, such as Articles 218–220, which regulate the offense of insulting the president and vice president. Article 240 also carries a criminal penalty of up to one year and six months for anyone who insults the government or state institutions in public. Article 241 also punishes insults through writing, images, recordings, or information technology in public spaces, with a penalty of up to three years in prison.
How have pro-democracy activists responded to the enactment of the Criminal Code? Fay, an activist from the Thursday Action in Bandung, stated that the government, through this new regulation, is monitoring and restricting society through problematic articles in the Criminal Code . The new Criminal Code is considered to criminalize civil society members who criticize government policies .
“This is a wake-up call for all of us that the state is once again using the law as a tool to control its citizens,” he said on Wednesday, November 8, 2025.
Even the articles on insulting state institutions and insulting the president and vice president were revived, despite previously being annulled by the Constitutional Court in Decision No. 013-022/PUU-IV-2006.
The Thursday Action in Bandung itself has been going on for almost 10 years, or since 2016. Each Thursday activist action conveys their concerns through written or verbal posters by criticizing the government, especially demanding that perpetrators of gross human rights violations in the past be brought to justice.
Fay’s concerns continue with Article 256 concerning unannounced demonstrations. This article states that anyone who organizes a parade, rally, or demonstration in a public place without prior notification to the authorities, resulting in a disturbance of public order, shall be subject to a maximum prison sentence of six months.
“We’re not too concerned about permits. Holding demonstrations is part of our freedom to assert our rights as citizens,” he stressed , adding that the Thursday Bandung Action will continue.
According to him, the Thursday Action in Bandung was a peaceful , democratic demonstration .
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Rubber Article
Yunita, a Criminal Law lecturer at Parahyangan Catholic University, assessed that the new Criminal Code generally does not differ much from the old regulations. The main difference lies in the writing style of the articles. She emphasized that the new Criminal Code emphasizes criminal penalties as a means of development, prevention, and rehabilitation—rather than simply punishment as in the old Criminal Code.
However, he highlighted the potential for ambiguous articles, particularly those concerning insults to heads of state and state institutions. He argued that the definition of defamation remains vague and prone to abuse, as the line between criticism and “damaging the image” of the government is unclear.
“How do you distinguish between criticism and damaging an image when a policy is detrimental?” he asked on Thursday, November 6, 2025.
Yunita also noted that both the old and new Criminal Codes are influenced by the legacy of colonial law. She highlighted Article 256 concerning notification of demonstrations. This provision is already stipulated in Law No. 9/1998, and the violation is administrative in nature. Therefore, she argued, demonstrations without notification should not be criminalized. She also reminded the public to remain critical in their response to the new Criminal Code.
Activists Arrested for Demonstrations
The new Criminal Code will come into effect next year. However, throughout 2025, authorities have arrested thousands of protesters under the old Criminal Code . Amnesty Indonesia recorded that 5,538 people were victims of excessive force and other forms of violence by authorities in the past year.
The excessive action occurred when the public protested the ratification of the TNI Law in March 2025, demanded workers’ welfare in May 2025, and rejected the increase in allowances for the Indonesian House of Representatives in August 2025. Amnesty Indonesia reported that the number of arrests was 4,453 victims, physical violence was 744 victims, and the use of water cannons and tear gas was 341 victims.
Meanwhile, KontraS’ findings revealed that during that period, there were 42 forced dispersals and 46 arbitrary arrests . Of the 89 incidents of violence against civil liberties , KontraS stated that more than 800 people were arrested, and half of them suffered minor to serious injuries.
This violence has continued since the Black August tragedy, which resulted in 3,195 deaths and arrests across Indonesia. Meanwhile, 959 people have been named as suspects.
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Editor: Iman Herdiana
Categories: Ahmadis, Ahmadiyyat: True Islam, Asia, Human Rights, Indonesia, Intra-Religious Tolerance, Minorities