An Indonesian TikToker has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison after presumably’ talking’ to a image of Jesus on her mobile and telling him to get a cut.
Ratu Thalisa, a Muslim trans woman with more than 442, 000 TikTok fans, had been on a video, and was responding to a post that told her to cut her hair to seem more like a person.
On Monday, a jury in Medan, Sumatra found Thalisa guilty of spreading anger under a questionable online hate-speech laws, and sentenced her to two times and 10 months in jail.
The judge said her remarks may destroy “public buy” and “religious cooperation” in society, and charged her with committing blasphemy.
The court decision came after many Religious groups filed authorities complaints against Ms Thalisa for heresy.
The word has been condemned by human rights groups, including Amnesty International, who described it as” a shocking attack on Ratu Thalisa’s freedom of expression” and called for it to be quashed.
” The Indonesian authorities should not use the country’s Electronic Information and Transactions ( EIT ) law to punish people for comments made on social media”, Amnesty International Indonesia’s Executive Director Usman Hamid said in a statement.
” While Indonesia should prevent the advocacy of spiritual hatred that constitutes provocation to discrimination, animosity or murder, Ratu Thalisa’s talk work does not approach that threshold”.
Mr Hamid called on Indonesian government to reverse Ms Thalisa’s faith and assure her quick release from custody.
He even urged them to overturn or make significant revisions to what he described as “problematic provisions” in the EIT Law– specifically, those criminalising reported wickedness, defamation and hate speech.
First introduced in 2008 and amended in 2016 to address online defamation, the EIT Law was designed to safeguard the rights of individuals in online spaces.
It has been roundly criticised, however, by rights groups, press groups and legal experts, who have long raised concerns about the law’s potential threat to freedom of expression.
At least 560 people were charged with alleged violations of the EIT Law while exercising their freedom of expression between 2019 and 2024, and 421 were convicted, according to data from Amnesty International.
Those charged with offenses of defamation and hate speech have included several social media influencers.
In September 2023, a Muslim woman was sentenced to two years’ prison for blaspheming Islam, after she posted a viral TikTok video where she said an Islamic phrase before eating pork.
In 2024, another TikToker was detained for blasphemy after they posted a quiz asking children what kind of animals can read the Quran, according to Amnesty International.
Indonesia is home to many religious minorities, including Buddhists, Christians and Hindus. But a vast majority of Indonesians are Muslim– and most cases of people found in violation of the EIT Law have typically related to religious minorities allegedly insulting Islam.
Ms Thalisa’s case, where a Muslim woman is accused of invoking hate speech against Christianity, is less common.
Prosecutors previously demanded that she receive a sentence of more than four years, and immediately appealed Monday’s verdict. Ms Thalisa was given seven days to appeal.