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Indonesia's notorious tech law strikes again: Ternate student arrested for bribery video
Jakarta Globe - October 2, 2015
Adlun Fiqri Sigoro uploaded a one-minute video titled "Police Asking for Bribes in Ternate" on Saturday which instantly went viral. The video was taken during a police traffic operation on Jalan Pahlawan Revolusi in front of the Dharma Ibu hospital in the island district.
North Maluku Police chief Brig. Gen. Zulkarnain confirmed on Thursday that the Ternate district police had arrested Adlun on Monday, charging the student with defamation and violating the notorious Information Technology and Electronics Transactions (ITE) Law, which has been highly criticized by free speech advocates. Adlun could face a maximum sentence of six years in prison if found guilty.
Zulkarnain said that the video posted by Adlun was not what it seems. "The traffic police officers were simply taking fines for safekeeping. They were not taking bribes," the general claimed as quoted by Detik.com.
Since news of the arrest spread, people across the country took to Twitter and Facebook condemning the arrest through hashtags such as #SaveAdlunFiqri and #KitaAdalahAdlunFiqri (We Are Adlun Fiqri).
A number of free-speech groups and police watchdogs like the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform and the Alliance for Independent Journalists (AJI) have also joined the wave of condemnation.
Several members of the online discussion forum Kaskus have spread the personal cellphone number of Ternate Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Kamal Bachtiar, urging other members to text their condemnation and criticisms.
Kamal defended the arrest, telling Merdeka.com news portal on Thursday that "it was hurtful, slanderous and far from the truth."
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