Gay couple arrested over Facebook
photo
This
news was originally posted by the Punch Newspaper of Friday, October 14, 2016.
Indonesian gay couple has been
arrested after a photo on Facebook of the men kissing sparked anger, police
said Friday, in the latest move against the country’s homosexual community.
There has been a growing
backlash against gay people in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority
country this year, with government ministers and religious leaders lining up to
denounce them.
The 22-year-old university
student and 24-year-old office worker were arrested Tuesday in the city of
Manado, on central Sulawesi island, after social media users complained about
the picture of them kissing in bed, police said.
“The couple admitted it’s them
in the picture and they posted the picture to prove their love,” local police
spokesman Marzuki, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.
Homosexuality is not illegal in
Indonesia, but police plan to charge the men with breaking anti-pornography
laws and under tough legislation governing internet content.
The couple, who are not in
police custody and whose identities were not disclosed, could be jailed if
found guilty.
After the picture was posted on
October 9, it went viral and sparked a flood of angry responses.
The image was removed from
Facebook after a request from the communications and information technology
ministry, local media reported.
The case follows criticism of
the government after the youth and sports ministry this week barred members of
the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from applying for a
job.
The online advertisement for the
post of creative youth ambassador said candidates should “not be involved in
casual sex or deviant acts, including LGBT”, and that this should be proven
with a doctor’s certificate.
The ad was revised, with the
part about LGBT dropped, after an outcry.
Prior to the recent wave of
intolerance, members of the gay community had been able to quietly get on with
their lives.
Activists believe the backlash
was triggered by widespread coverage of the legalisation of same-sex marriage
in the United States last year.
AFP
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