Indonesia: Worker Arrested For Criticizing Former Employer
Septia Dwi Pertiwi was a worker at PT Hive Five, a tax and accounting services company in South Jakarta, Indonesia. On 27 October 2022, Septia resigned from her workplace after the company cut the workers’ salary and did not fulfill the commission promised to her and her colleagues.
On 21 January 2023, Septia Dwi Pertiwi criticized her former workplace on social media for allegedly underpaying and neglecting the worker's rights, especially during her employment. Septia Dwi Pertiwi then received several threats of imprisonment from an anonymous account 22 hours after she posted the criticism on social media. She was then continuously contacted by several people from the company on the same day, but she refused to respond.
On 22 January 2023, Henry Kurnia Adhi, co-owner of the company, sent a legal notice to Septia Dwi Pertiwi requesting clarification and accusing her of defamation.
On 23 January 2023, Septia Dwi Pertiwi received the first legal notice sent to her residence, to which she did not respond. On 27 January 2023, she received the second legal notice and on 17 February 2023, she received a letter from the Metro Jaya Police summoning her to the Metro Jaya Police Office.
On 13 March 2023, Septia Dwi Pertiwi and her legal team responded to the Metro Jaya Police summons for a mediation with Henry Kurnia Adhi, but he did not attend the summons.
On 5 September 2023, a second mediation was held by the Metro Jaya Police between Septia Dwi Pertiwi and Henry Kurnia Adhi. Henry Kurnia Adhi demanded a compensation of 300 million rupiah (about 19,300 USD) from Septia and demanded that Septia Dwi Pertiwi apologize publicly in the media. The police also named Septia Dwi Pertiwi as a suspect, but investigators did not arrest her because she showed great respect for the legal process and was cooperative with every summons from investigators.
On 27 August 2024, Septia Dwi Pertiwi's legal team submitted a request for suspension of her detention to the Central Jakarta Prosecutor's Office. Initially, the request was to be decided at Septia's first court hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court on 10 September 2024. However, the hearing was postponed and rescheduled for 17 September 2024.
On 19 September 2024, the agenda continued with the reading of the defendant's exception and the decision on the request for suspension of detention. The suspension of Septia Dwi Pertiwi 's detention was granted at the hearing.
Indonesia has shown an alarming trend of criminalizing people and suppressing the right to freedom of expression. Amnesty International records that from 2019 to October 2024, at least 554 people have been charged with alleged violations of problematic articles of the EIT law.