Detained Over a Facebook Posting

The law enforcement authorities were quite slick when they arrested and charged Yusniar, 27, for alleged defamation against a member of the Jeneponto regional House of Representatives (DPRD) in South Sulawesi. Yusniar's detention was unwarranted as all she did was lament on social media without naming anyone.

Her arrest sparked social media protests as Article 27 paragraph 3 of the Information and Electronic transaction Law No. 11/2008 used by the prosecution to charge her, was newly revised, reducing the maximum sentence for slander from 6 to 4 years. The arrest therefore was, in fact, unnecessary given the less than 5-year maximum punishment the accused was facing. But the Makassar state prosecution chose not to heed the public outcry.