Banda Aceh (ANTARA) -
A civil servant in Southwest Aceh district, Aceh province, may be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if found guilty of spreading hate speech.

The 44-year old civil servant, identified by his initial as K, was arrested in Southwest Aceh on Sunday (May 26), according to Director of Special Crime Detective Unit at the Aceh Provincial Police Senior Commissioner T Saladin, speaking in Banda Aceh on Tuesday.

"The suspect K was arrested for allegedly spreading a video of a hoax leading to hatred or hostility among individuals or groups. He may be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail," he said.

Saladin said K was suspected of distributing a video of President Joko Widodo on social media on May 23, with the aim of sending negative perceptions of the president to the community.

The video, entitled "Fiesta after butchering Muslims at a mosque like PKI (outlawed Indonesian Communist Party) dance in: Lubang Buaya", was posted on Facebook, Saladin said.

"The video hoax was spread on May 23 after the rallies were held in Jakarta on May 22 and 23. The video went viral on social media," he said.

He said K was charged with violating article 28, sub-article (2) adj. article 45A, sub-article (2) of Law No. 19 of 2016 on electronic information and transactions.

(INE)

Translator: M.Haris Setiady Agus, Suharto
Editor: Eliswan Azly
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