association, and of religion or belief. In July, Yanto Awerkion and Sem Ukago, Papuan political activists in Timika, were charged with “rebellion” under Article 106 of the Criminal Code. In November, prisoner of conscience Steven Itlay, leader of the Timika branch of the West Papuan National Committee was sentenced to one year in prison for “incitement” under Article 160 (see below). Another activist from Ternate, North Maluku, was charged with “rebellion” for posting online a photo of a T-shirt with a caricature of the communist hammer and sickle symbol. In May, Ahmad Mushaddeq, Andry Cahya and Mahful Muis Tumanurung, former leaders of the disbanded religious group, Gafatar, were arrested and later charged with blasphemy under Article 156a of the Criminal Code, and with “rebellion” under Articles 107 and 110 of the Code. They were penalized for peacefully practising their beliefs. Vague language in the 2008 Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law allowed for the wide interpretation of definitions of defamation and blasphemy, and the criminalization of expression. Haris Azhar, Executive Coordinator of the human rights NGO KontraS, was threatened by the police, the military and the National Anti-Narcotics Agency with defamation charges under the Law. This followed an article he published on social media linking security and law enforcement officials to drug trafficking and corruption. The charges were suspended.1 In August, Pospera, a pro-ruling party organization, filed a criminal defamation complaint under the ITE Law against I Wayan Suardana, a human rights defender from Bali. The complaint was made in response to I Wayan Suardana’s using Twitter to mock supporters of a large-scale land reclamation project by a commercial developer in Benoa Bay, southern Bali.2 The police were still investigating the complaint at the end of the year. At least 11 other activists were reported to the police by state or non-state actors for criminal defamation under the ITE Law after the activists criticized government policies. Between April and September, at least 2,200 Papuan activists were arrested after 188 participating in peaceful demonstrations in Jayapura, Merauke, Fakfak, Sorong and Wamena in Papua and West Papua Provinces, in Semarang in Central Java Province, in Makassar in South Sulawesi Province and in Yogyakarta Province. Most were released without charge after one day. The arbitrary arrests highlighted the ongoing repressive environment for political activists in the Papua region.3 RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE Discrimination increased against LGBTI people after officials made inflammatory, grossly inaccurate or misleading statements in January on the grounds of “defending the country’s public morality and public security”. In February, police disbanded a workshop organized by a leading LGBTI NGO in Jakarta and prevented a pro-LGBTI rally from taking place in Yogyakarta.4 In the same month, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission issued a letter calling for a ban on any television or radio broadcasts promoting LGBTI activities, to “protect the children”. Also in February, amid increasing antiLGBTI rhetoric, the Islamic school for transgender people, Al Fatah in Yogyakarta, was forced to close following intimidation and threats by the Islamic Jihadist Front. In June, the government voted against a resolution by the UN Human Rights Council, and again at the UN General Assembly in November, to appoint an independent expert on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND BELIEF Discriminatory legislation continued to be used to restrict the activities of members of minority religious groups who faced harassment, intimidation and attacks. In January, a mob set alight nine houses belonging to members of the Gafatar movement in Menpawah District, West Kalimantan. After the attacks, at least 2,000 people were forcibly moved by local security forces to temporary shelters in Kubu Raya Amnesty International Report 2016/17