January 5, 2026
JAKARTA – Authorities are looking the other way amid increasing intimidation targeting activists and social media influencers who criticized the government.
Over the past week, fears over the worsening decline of freedom of expression have surged following intimidation incidents targeting vocal critics of the government’s slow response to the deadly floods and landslides that hit three Sumatran provinces in late November.
On Dec. 30, 2025, Greenpeace Indonesia activist Iqbal Damanik received an unwrapped chicken carcass left on his house’s terrace accompanied by a handwritten note that read: “Watch your words if you want to protect your family”. Iqbal has previously criticized the government’s sluggish disaster response.
On the same day, Sherly Annavita, a social media influencer from Aceh with over two million followers on Instagram, reportedly received numerous online threats. She also found her car was vandalized with graffiti by unknown individuals. The intimidation reportedly occurred after Sherly shared on her social media the harrowing scale of disasters impacting Aceh, the worst-hit province, which the government has repeatedly insisted is under control.
A more recent incident occurred on Saturday, targeting Zainal Arifin Mochtar, a scholar and pro-democracy activist from Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University (UGM). He was reportedly threatened over the phone by an anonymous caller claiming affiliation with the Yogyakarta Police and demanding his presence at the police station or risk arrest.
Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai refuted allegations that the government was behind the intimidation, suggesting that the police thoroughly investigate the reported attacks.
“We currently enjoy a surplus of democracy, meaning that the right to express thoughts and feelings is guaranteed without any regulatory constraints. In this situation, it’s impossible for institutions, let alone the state, to obstruct such freedoms,” Pigai told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
In a statement on Dec. 31, 2025, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) along with dozens of civil organizations, scholars and students condemned the government for allowing such attempts to terrorize critics, calling it an “attack on free speech” and a tactic “to limit public participation and perpetuate injustice”.
“Government officials have failed to listen and address public criticism and [they] instead normalize actions that dismiss public concerns over disaster response and other issues,” the groups said.
Andreas Hugo Pareira, deputy chair of the House of Representatives’ Commission XIII overseeing human rights affairs, told the Post on Sunday that the intimidation has pointed to “a regression” in the country’s political sphere.
“These terrors are certainly intended to silence voices coming from influencers,” said Andreas of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the sole de facto opposition party, adding that the state must step in to investigate and identify those behind the intimidation.