Indonesia set to criminalize sex outside marriage

A view of Indonesia's Parliament building in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov 23, 2017. (BEAWIHARTA / REUTERS)

JAKARTA – Indonesia is expected to ratify sweeping changes to its criminal code on Tuesday, senior officials confirmed.

The changes include articles that would penalize sex outside of marriage with up to one year in jail, outlaw cohabitation between unmarried couples, insulting the president, and expressing views counter to the national ideology, known as the Pancasila.

Deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, and Bambang Wuryanto, head of the parliamentary commission overseeing the revision, told Reuters on Monday that parliament would hold a plenary session on Tuesday to ratify the new code

Deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, and Bambang Wuryanto, head of the parliamentary commission overseeing the revision, told Reuters on Monday that parliament would hold a plenary session on Tuesday to ratify the new code.

The government and House of Representatives have agreed on the draft code, clearing a hurdle to its passage.

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Decades in the making, the revision of the country's colonial-era penal code has sparked mass protests in recent years, although the response has been considerably more muted this year.

Parliament had planned to ratify a draft new code in September 2019, but nationwide demonstrations over perceived threats to civil liberties halted its passage.

Legislators in the world's third-largest democracy have since watered down some of the articles deemed most contentious.

Revised articles on sex outside marriage and cohabitation, for example, now state such complaints can only be reported by close relatives such as a spouse, parent or child, while insulting the president can only be reported by the president.

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Once ratified, the new code will come into effect after three years as the government and related institutions draft related implementing regulations.