Amnesty International criticized Indonesia’s government, saying it suppresses free speech with crackdowns on public protests, targets journalists and rights activists, and uses spyware against dissidents.
The rights group said in its annual report on Indonesia that public protests “were met with excessive and unnecessary force and arbitrary arrests,” including in August when thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to protest attempts by the House of Representatives to change the country’s election law.
The amendment would have permitted Kaesang Pangarep, the son of former president Joko Widodo, to run for regional office despite not meeting the age requirement for candidacy. The parliament eventually withdrew the bill after widespread criticism.
The report said at least 344 people were arrested while taking part in public protests across the country in 2024, 152 of them were physically harmed and 17 suffered from the effects of tear gas, while 65 suffered multiple abuses, including 15 university students who were hospitalized. Most of those arrested were later released.
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