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Indonesia’s Parliament has passed a long-awaited and controversial revision of its penal code that criminalizes extramarital sex and applies to citizens and visiting foreigners alike. A parliamentary task force finalized the bill in November and lawmakers unanimously approved it Tuesday.
After ratification, the new criminal code must be signed by the president, according to Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Hiraeij. The criminal code will not apply immediately, but takes a maximum of three years to transition from the old code to the new one.
„That (the new Criminal Code) has a lot of implementing regulations that must be worked out, so it’s impossible in one year, but remember the maximum (transition period) is three years,“ Hiraeij said.
A copy of the amended criminal code obtained by The Associated Press includes several revised articles that make sex outside marriage punishable by a year in jail and cohabitation by six months, but adultery charges must be based on police reports lodged by their spouse, parents or children.
It also says the promotion of contraception and religious blasphemy are illegal, and it restores a ban on insulting a sitting president and vice president, state institutions and national ideology. Insults to a sitting president must be reported by the president and can lead to up to three years in jail.
Hiariej said the government has provided „the strictest possible explanation that distinguishes between insults and criticism.“
The code maintains that abortion is a crime, but it adds exceptions for women with life-threatening medical conditions and for rape, provided that the fetus is less than 12 weeks old, in line with what is already regulated in the 2004 Medical Practice Law.
