Police in Sidoarjo in East Java have arrested three men who they have accused of running a gay Facebook page. They allege that the page contained content that violated the country’s pornography laws.
The police told the media that they arrested the three men in a rented room in Taman, Sidoarjo following a 24-hour cyber patrol by officer from the Criminal Investigation Unit. Police said the men had been uploading pornographic content and various items had been seized from their room including contraceptives, essential oils and sex toys.
If convicted the three men could each face up to 12 years in prison and fines of up to six billion rupiah, which is the equivalent of AUD$568,000. Homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia but people are often prosecuted under the nation’s broad ranging pornography laws.
The latest arrests follow a similar case in June where Tanjung Perak Port Police in East Java arrested two men over a Facebook community group.
Also in June police confirmed that they had conducted a raid on a villa in the Puncak area of Bognor, near the capital of Jakarta on Sunday night to stop a ‘gay party’. Seventy five people were arrested in what Amnesty International labeled a clear violation of human rights.
On Monday a court in Aceh sentenced two men to be publicly caned for hugging and kissing. The province follows Islamic sharia law which outlaws all homosexuality.
