Govt set to pass new criminal code

Fighting for their freedom: People holding up a banner during a protest against Indonesia’s impending move to pass a new criminal code that will ban sex outside marriage, cohabitation between unmarried couples, insulting the president, and expressing views counter to the national ideology, outside the Indonesian Parliament buildings in Jakarta. — Reuters

The country is expected to ratify sweeping changes to its criminal code today, senior officials confirmed, in a legal overhaul that critics say could curb freedoms and police morality in the South-East Asian nation.

Among the most controversial revisions to the code are articles that would penalise sex outside of marriage with up to one year in jail and prohibit cohabitation between unmarried couples. Insulting the president and spreading views counter to the secular national ideology, known as the Pancasila, will also be outlawed.