Indonesia was once lauded for our remarkable transformation from an autocracy into a vibrant democracy after the fall of the authoritarian New Order regime in 1998. Prodemocratic scholars and politicians alike have noted our many achievements since, including a bigger civic space, a boom in independent media, free and open elections, a competitive multiparty system and a depoliticized military.

But recent developments have painted a less rosy picture of our democracy. The consensus among scholars is that Indonesia is currently experiencing democratic regression, if not an illiberal democracy, or worse, an authoritarian turn.

As our society becomes increasingly polarized along political and ideological lines, the use of draconian legislation to silence critics has now become the norm, such as the infamous Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law and the 1965 Blasphemy Law. Politicians no longer have reservations in using – or abusing – such laws to persecute people for simply expressing their views.

In a controversial move last week, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police charged human rights activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti under the ITE Law for allegedly defaming Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investments Minister Luhut Pandjaitan in a YouTube video. The two can face up to six years in prison.

Luhut, a former Army general and a close confidant of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, had accused the activists of spreading false information through their allegations that the businesses of several high-ranking officials, including his, had contributed to escalating military activities in Intan Jaya, Papua.

The allegations are based on a report released by the Bersihkan Indonesia (Clean Indonesia) Coalition.

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