Ex Indonesian Minister Detained for Posting President's Meme, a Blasphemy

TheIndonesia.co - The Greater Jakarta Metropolitan (Metro Jaya) Police have arrested Roy Suryo in a case of alleged blasphemy related to the Borobudur Temple stupa meme which was edited to resemble President Joko Widodo's face. Head of Public Relations of Polda Metro Jaya, Police Commissioner Endra Zulpan, said Roy Suryo was detained for the next 20 days.

"Starting tonight, Roy Suryo Notodiprojo, a 52-year-old man as a suspect in a hate speech case, will be detained," said Endra Zulpan in Jakarta, Friday, August 5, 2022.

Zulpan stated the reason for Roy Suryo's detention was concern that he would lose evidence. Investigators also confiscated several pieces of evidence in the case that ensnared Roy Suryo.

"Some of the evidence that was seized starting tonight related to this crime, including the Twitter account of Roy Suryo, Roy Suryo's cellphone, and the cellphone of the witness on behalf of Ade Suhendrawan," said Zulpan.

Roy Suryo has been named a suspect in the alleged blasphemy case related to the Borobudur Temple stupa meme. The former Minister of Youth and Sports was charged with Article 28 paragraph (2) in conjunction with Article 45 of Law (UU) Number 19 of 2016 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE). Then he was also charged with Article 156a of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on Blasphemy of Religion and Article 15 of Law Number 1 of 1946.

On Friday, Roy Suryo underwent further investigation as a suspect at the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation (Ditreskrimsus) of the Metro Jaya Police. Roy Suryo arrived at the Metro Jaya Police headquarters at around 13.00 Western Indonesia Time. Before being examined, the police first checked Roy Suryo's health condition and was declared healthy.