Indonesian Supreme Court blocks appeal to ban gay sex
The Indonesian Supreme Court has blocked a measure to ban gay sex in the country after a push from a religious group lodged a petition.
The Family Love Alliance, which launched a petition to Jakarta court to ban extra-marital and gay sex last year, has been left stumped after its appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected by judges.
Appealing to change the morality articles within the country’s criminal code, the group wanted to expand the definition of adultery to mean men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women, which would make the act illegal.
The panel of nine lawmakers narrowly voted to rebuff the petition 5 – 4.
Four of the judges dissented, including the Constitutional Court’s Chief Justice.
“The appeal is rejected in its entirety,” Chief Justice Arief Hidayat told the court.
“Just because a law is considered incomplete or no longer in line with the society’s norms does not mean the law itself is contradictory to the Constitution,” justice Saldi Isra read from the verdict.
“It will not change much while there’s a homophobic situation among law-enforcement officials,” Andreas Harsono from Human Rights Watch said after the decision was handed down to ABC News.
“More than 200 LGBT individuals were arrested this year.”
