A transgender woman in Indonesia, Ratu Thalisa, was sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in prison for hate speech against Christianity over comments on her TikTok channel. Amnesty International Indonesia condemned the ruling, calling it an attack on free expression and criticizing the misuse of Indonesia’s Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT) Law to penalize social media posts.
The conviction stems from a 2 October 2024 live video where Ratu Thalisa, responding to a viewer about haircuts, held up a Jesus Christ image and said, “You should look like his father.” Five Christian groups filed a blasphemy complaint, leading to her arrest and a court’s finding that her remarks threatened “public order” and “religious harmony.” She was also fined $6,200.
Amnesty highlighted broader concerns about Indonesia’s EIT Law, which has been used to charge over 560 individuals since 2019 for defamation or hate speech, with 421 convicted. The group urged authorities to overturn the sentence, release Ratu Thalisa immediately, and reform laws criminalizing “immorality” and religious insults. Critics argue Indonesia’s blasphemy laws violate international rights standards on free expression and religion.
Source: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/03/indonesia-trans-womans-prison-sentence-for-insulting-jesus-must-be-quashed