Indonesian Influencer Jailed for Nearly Three Years Over Jesus Comments
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!An Indonesian social media influencer, Ratu Thalisa, has been sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison for hate speech against Christianity after commenting that Jesus should cut his hair.
Thalisa, a Muslim transgender woman with nearly 450,000 TikTok followers, was convicted under Indonesia’s strict Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT) law. The North Sumatra court ruled that her remarks, made during a live broadcast on October 2, 2024, could disrupt public order and religious harmony.
Social Media Controversy Sparks Legal Action
The controversy began when a viewer suggested Thalisa should cut her hair to look more masculine. In response, she held up an image of Jesus and remarked: “You should not look like a woman. You should cut your hair so that you will look like his father.”
This led to five Christian groups filing blasphemy complaints, prompting Indonesian authorities to arrest her on October 8. Alongside the prison term, the court imposed a fine of approximately $6,200.
Amnesty International Condemns Verdict
Human rights group Amnesty International has criticized the ruling as an attack on free speech. The organization’s Indonesia Director, Usman Hamid, described the conviction as a “shocking” suppression of freedom of expression.
“Indonesia should prohibit religious hatred that incites violence, but Ratu Thalisa’s comments do not meet that threshold,” Hamid argued, adding that the EIT law is increasingly used to suppress dissent.
Between 2019 and 2024, at least 560 individuals have been prosecuted under Indonesia’s EIT law for defamation, hate speech, and other offenses. Rights groups warn that these laws are being used arbitrarily against religious minorities.
Indonesia’s Blasphemy Crackdown Intensifies
Thalisa’s case adds to a growing list of blasphemy convictions in Indonesia, a nation where 231 million people—93% of the adult population—identify as Muslim. Religious conservatism has been rising, with blasphemy laws frequently invoked against perceived insults to Islam.
In September 2023, social media influencer Lina Mukherjee received a two-year prison sentence for reciting an Islamic prayer before trying pork on TikTok. Similarly, in 2017, Jakarta’s former governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known as Ahok, was jailed for two years for allegedly insulting Islam during his re-election campaign.
Human rights groups continue to urge Indonesian authorities to revise or repeal blasphemy laws to protect free speech and prevent their misuse against minorities.
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