Police in Indonesia arrest gay couple for Facebook photo showing them kissing
A gay couple have been arrested in Indonesia for a photo showing them kissing that appeared on Facebook.
A 22 year old university student and his 24 year old boyfriend were arrested on the island of Sulawesi after other Facebook users complained to police about the photo.
Police in the city of Manado said that the couple could be prosecuted under the country’s laws against ‘obscenity and pornography’, despite homosexuality not being illegal.
The caption of the image read “With my dear lover tonight. May our love last forever.”
The couple, have been released on bail but could be jailed if they are found guilty.
The image was posted on the social media site but was removed after Indonesia’s communication and information technology ministry requested it be taken down.
“The couple admitted it’s them in the picture and they posted the picture to prove their love,” the local police spokesman Marzuki told AFP.
The arrest is yet another sign of the intolerance sweeping through the city, amid reports of an unprecedented amount of anti-LGBT attacks in Indonesia.
The spokesperson for the president of Indonesia has said that the country has “no room” for the LGBT community.
Indonesia is in the process of blocking Grindr and 80 other gay websites in clampdown on ‘deviant propaganda.’
A transgender women was arrested for ‘cross-dressing’ in the country last month.
