JAKARTA, Jan 15 — An Indonesian court found a woman guilty of incitement on Thursday over social media posts during nationwide protests, with activists saying hundreds of others are on trial on charges related to last year’s unrest.
Judges in Jakarta convicted 26-year-old Laras Faizati Khairunnisa of spreading incitement through social media, including an Instagram story calling on people to burn the National Police headquarters in the capital.
The posts were made as nationwide protests rocked the archipelago in late August and early September, sparked by lavish perks for lawmakers but later intensifying over footage of a police vehicle fatally running over a delivery driver.
Laras, a former worker of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, had been in pre-trial detention since September 1.
She was one of the first Indonesians convicted of incitement related to the protests, with trials in Jakarta ongoing for at least four activists who face multiple charges including incitement.
The verdict called for a six-month prison sentence, but presiding judge I Ketut Darpawan said Laras would instead get a one-year probation.
She was released from custody following the hearing.
“The panel of judges chose a type of punishment that emphasises education… and gives the defendant the opportunity to improve herself so that she could be a more cautious individual when using social media,” Ketut said in the hearing which was broadcasted by local media.
Speaking to reporters later, Laras said: “Praise be to God that I can go home today, although still declared guilty.”
“Opinions, criticism and expression of anger… should not be considered as a crime,” added Laras, who has seven days to appeal the ruling.
Amnesty International Indonesia called the court’s decision a “devastating blow to freedom of expression and peaceful protest” which “could clearly create a chilling effect in society”.
The ruling paints any expression of criticism of state violence as a “mistake”, the NGO’s executive director Usman Hamid said in a statement.
According to Amnesty, around 290 people are currently facing trial on charges related to last year’s protests, including 14 activists.
Police arrested thousands of people across the country during and following the protests — the most violent unrest since President Prabowo Subianto took office in 2024.
Many have since been released, but police in September said nearly 600 were still detained.
Authorities also named 959 people including nearly 300 minors suspected of incitement, destruction of property and other offences related to the protests. — AFP
Indonesia convicts woman of incitement over protest posts after months in detention
