Additional Name(s): Roy Suryo Notodiprojo
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Indonesia
Religion or Belief: Unspecified
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Appeal: Rejected
Sentence: 9 Months' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: August/5/2022
Date of Sentencing: December/28/2022
Date of Release: May/2/2023
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Blasphemy (General) Blasphemy (Religious Figures) Online Activity
Nature of Charges: Blasphemy Hate Speech Spreading Propaganda & False or Misleading Ideas, Information, or Materials
Roy Suryo was imprisoned for blasphemy.
On August 5, 2022, police arrested Suryo, the former Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs, for tweeting out an image of President Joko Widodo's face digitally imposed on a Buddhist statue. Suryo's tweet reportedly came after the government announced plans to raise the entry price to get into the Borobudur Temple. Suryo was reportedly charged with “disseminating information aimed at inflicting hatred or dissension on individuals and/or certain groups of community based on ethnic groups, religions, races, and inter-groups” (Art. 28(2) Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE)) and “insulting a religion" or "preventing a person from adhering to any religion based on a belief in God” (Art. 156a ICC) as well as under Law Number 1 of 1946 for disseminating false information.
On December 28, 2022, the West Jakarta District Court sentenced Suryo to nine months in prison.
On February 10, 2023, the Jakarta High Court upheld Suryo's sentence and imposed a fine of 150 million rupiah or two additional months in jail.
In May 2023, the Supreme Court rejected Suryo's appeal.
On May 2, 2023, Suryo was released after completing his sentence.
Photo attributed to Election Commission, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
"Roy Suryo Bebas Penjara di Kasus Meme Jokowi" Cable News Network (CNN)
"Roy Suryo Bebas Usai Jalani Vonis 9 Bulan Bui di Kasus Meme Stupa" Detik
2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Indonesia U.S. Department of State
"Ex-Minister Roy Suryo Convicted of Hate Speech" Jakarta Globe
"Bacakan Pleidoi, Roy Suryo Minta Dibebaskan dan Nama Baik Dibersihkan" Cable News Network (CNN)
USCIRF Issue Update: ASEAN States' Blasphemy Laws October 19, 2022
"Baca artikel CNN Indonesia "Roy Suryo Didakwa Penodaan Agama di Kasus Stupa Borobudur Mirip Jokowi" Cable News Network (CNN)
"Roy Suryo arrested over post of Jokowi's face on Buddhist statue" The Jakarta Post