A man from Indonesia’s Lombok island has been arrested in Bali for allegedly insulting police on Facebook.
Under Indonesia’s Information and Electronic Transactions Act (UU ITE), any electronic media communication that could be considered defamatory or slanderous is criminalized—yes, this law has been criticized has harsh and as an affront to free speech.
Regardless, Denpasar Police Criminal Investigators arrested the suspect, a 22-year-old man, from North Lombok, identified by initials NS, on Monday.
“This case was reported to the North Lombok police station. The information is that NS was initially detained in the Denpasar area because he was still being investigated,” Bali Post quoted an anonymous source, as saying.
The arrest was a cooperative effort, based on coordination between North Lombok and Denpasar Police.
“It’s still being explored whether the perpetrator posted these insulting words while in Lombok or in Bali. Because the perpetrator has been living in Bali for the past month,” the source said.
NS is working at a hotel in Bali, according to the source.
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