Internet crimes and Freedom of Expression

Indonesia
- The Florence Sihombing case
o Sihombing is an Indonesian who called Jogjakarta people
poor, stupid, and uncultured on private social network
Path. Somebody took a screenshot of it and shared the
status on public social media like Facebook and Twitter.
o Jogjakarta people showed their discontent regarding
Sihombings
status
and
bullied
her
online.
#UsirFlorenceDariJogja was the worldwide trending
hashtag used to make Sihombing notorious on Twitter. It
means evict Florence from Jogja.
o The situation became worse. A few local NGOs took the
case to the police by filing a lawsuit against her under the
ITE law. They believe that Sihombing should be found guilty
for causing insult, defamation, and provocation.
o Sihombing has since issued a public apology. And even
when the numerous NGOs said they have forgiven her for
it, they are still continuing the criminal charges against her.
- Kemal Septiandi case
o Ridwan Kamil, a respected mayor of the city, filed a lawsuit
against Twitter user Kemal Septiandi. The latter basically
made childish, nasty references to Kamil and Bandung
cities, using words like fuck and whore.
- 2 High School Students in 2010
o Two high school students who talked trash to each other on
Facebook. One of them filed a lawsuit, and successfully got
the other student convicted as a criminal. The latter was
charged with two months and 15 days of imprisonment,
but could escape jail time as long as she doesnt break any
laws for five months.
- The journalist Donny Iswando
o The journalist who was charged under the ITE law because
of his articles on corruption in the South Nias Regency.
Iswandono claims to have followed journalistic best
practices by asking for the regents comments before
publishing the article, but it was ignored. Indonesia
Corruption Watch believes that the police shouldve
prioritized the investigation of the regents corruption
cases over Iswandonos defamation charge.
- Benny Handoko case
o He who was found guilty of defamation through his tweets.
Some said that the judge did not follow the usual protocol
of evaluating digital forensic evidence needed to establish

the intention in defaming the person. To demonstrate

intention, the perpetrator must be shown to defame a
person more than once. The judge simply dismissed the
digital forensic appeal by the defense attorney.
Indonesia government blocks radical websites
o the Communications and Information Ministry reopened on
Tuesday
access
to
22
websites
the
National
Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) had condemned for
promoting radicalism in the country. The government
decided to block the websites following the circulation of
web-based Islamic State (IS) movement propaganda that
authorities believed was helping IS recruit support in the
country.
Indonesian government banned internet website Vimeo
o Indonesias Ministry of Communications and Information on
Monday announced it had banned video sharing site
Vimeo, claiming that it hosted pornographic content,
causing an outcry among local users.

Malaysia
- The Draft Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2015
o The draft law contains key elements of the notorious
Internal Security Act (ISA), revoked in 2012, which was long
used to detain government opponents, dissidents, and
others in violation of their basic rights.
o The draft counterterrorism law would allow terrorist
suspects to be detained for 21 days based solely on the
word of a police inspector, extendable for an additional 38
days. During this period, the suspect is not permitted
representation by counsel except when his own formal
statement is being taken and recorded by the inquiry
officer.
- Police Officers arrest Editors of The Malaysian Insider
o Police have detained three editors and two executives of
The Malaysian Insider news portal in Malaysias Kelantan
state and accused them of sedition.
- BBC bloc blocked in Malaysia
o A BBC Trending article about the lampooning of Malaysias
prime minister on social media was blocked in Malaysia for
several hours on Wednesday and Thursday. The blog post
which had the headline Be careful what you say about
spinach explained how remarks by Malaysias Prime
Minister Najib Razak about the price of kangkung, or water
spinach, had caused a huge social media reaction.

Singapore
- Singapore threatens to sue Roy Ngerng
o Roy Ngerng Yi Ling, 33, a blogger from Singapore who has
written nearly 400 articles over the past 2 years on The
Heart Truths To Keep The Singaporean Thinking
http://thehearttruths.com about what is happening in
Singapore, threatens to be sued by The Singapore Prime
Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
- Cartoonist arrested for sedition
o Singapore police arrested Mr Leslie Chew, 37, the person
behind the cartoon strip, Demon-cratic Singapore, on
Friday morning, for alleged sedition.He was held in custody
and questioned over the weekend, and was released after
posting bail of S$10,000.
- Blogger arrested for calling Lee Kwan Yew a horrible person
o Amos Yee posted a video describing late founding prime
minister Lee Kuan Yew as a horrible person has been
arrested by Singapore police.
- Singapore:Medialicensesandovertcensorship
o Singaporesnewlicensingschemefornewswebsiteswasquickly

denouncedbynetizensasacensorshipmeasure.Underthenewrule,
newswebsitesthatreportonSingaporeandhave50,000uniqueIP
views per month must secure a license and post a performance
bondof50,000USdollars.
Thailand
- Facebook was blocked in the country
o In 2014, many people across Thailand noticed that
Facebook is inaccessible in the country. The blockage is
occurring on many but not all mobile telcos and
broadband ISPs. Since its been about five days since a
military coup in the country, Thailands web users fear that
the disappearance of Facebook is a deliberate act of
censorship by the ruling peace-keeping junta.
- 200 sites blocked in Thailand
o Thailand has been under martial law since May 20th and
under a military coup since last Thursday. To keep the
situation under control, the military junta has already
ordered over 100 websites to be blocked in the kingdom of
Thailand since the army seized power. According to
Dailynews, Thailands ministry of ICT has shut down over
100 URLs deemed a threat to the country since the coup
was annouced.
- Thai Army threatens to shutdown social media

o The Thai Army issued an order under the Martial Law,

prohibiting social media users from posting comments
which incite conflict and violence and ordered a temporary
shutdown of four more media outlets. The Army reasoned
that they need to shut the TV channels down in order that
people have correct information without bias which may
cause misunderstandings, which may amplify the conflict,
and affected the peacekeeping duty of the officials.
Case of Ekkachai
o The Thai Appeal Court on May 8 affirmed the decision of
the Court of First Instance, sentencing Ekkachai H. to three
years and four months in jail and a fine of 66,666 baht for
selling VCDs of a documentary on the Thai royal succession
by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and
copies of Wikileaks cables. Thailand said Ekkachai violated
the draconian lse-majest law.
Six people jailed for violating the lse-majest laws
o Thailand must release all six people currently detained
under draconian lse-majest laws, FIDH and its member
organization Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) said today. The
Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of activist Yotwarit
Chuklom, better known as Jeng Dokjik, to two years in jail
for lse-majest under Article 112 of the Criminal Code.
Parents Sue Daughter For lse majest
o A Thai mother and father have sued their daughter, a vocal
anti-establishment red-shirt residing in the UK, for posting
video clips of herself defaming the monarchy after they
received a storm of hate phone calls from Thai loyalists.
Thai media reported on April 17 that Surapong and
Somchintra Amornpat filed a police complaint against their
daughter Chatwadee Amornpat, 34, who is now working as
a hair stylist in London and holds British citizenship.

Thailand:Insulttheking,gotojail
o Thailands most notorious media regulation is practiced through
Article 112 of the countrys Criminal Code, known as the lese
majeste law, which forbids anyone from insulting the king and
membersoftheroyalfamily.

Vietnam
- Vietnam Arrest 2 Bloggers for violating Article 258
o Vietnam has arrested two democracy activists for posting
articles critical of the government on the Internet, signaling
a continued crackdown on dissent despite the early release
of three dissidents last month.

Government of Vietnam, Stop Imprisoning Bloggers and Netizens

in Vietnam
o Again bloggers with critical voice imprisoned by the
Vietnamese government. The victim this time is Truong
Duy Nhat who writes critically about the Communist Partyled government. Three days ago, this blogger who writes
on Nhin Khac Nhat Mot Goc (Another Point of View) is found
guilty and sentenced to two years in prison.
Vietnam blogger threatened with jail
o Two Vietnamese bloggers, Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Ba Sam)
and Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, were arrested for "abusing
democratic freedoms that infringe on the interests of the
state."
Pham Viet cases
o Vietnam arrests prominent blogger for abusing freedoms.
Pham Viet Dao, 61, was arrested in Hanoi on Thursday for
abusing democratic freedoms. Mr Dao ran a blog critical
of government leaders and policies, and discussed
sensitive issues like the territorial row with China. The
charge against Mr Dao carries a prison sentence of up to
seven years.

Vietnam:Masspersecutionofpoliticalbloggers
o Thirtyfive political bloggers are currently in prison in Vietnam.
Continuing persecution suffered by bloggers and dissidents has
highlightedtheurgentneedtoreformlawsthatgovernspeechand
onlinecontentinVietnam.

Myanmar

Myanmar:Legacyofcensorshiplingerson
o InMyanmar,severalmediareformswereinstitutedinrecentyears,
suchasthedissolutionofthecensorshipboard,butthelingering
effectsofcensorshiparestillfeltandindirectlyenforced.Hard
hittingjournalistscontinuetofacedefamationchargesandother
harassmentsuits.Thegovernmentisalsoaccusedofdeliberately
preventingtheimprovementofInternetconnectionsinthecountryin
anefforttocontrolthespreadofcriticalinformation.
o ThemediasituationintheseSoutheastAsiannationsprovesthat
politicalandeconomicreformsdonotnecessarilytranslateinto
greatermediafreedoms.Lawmakerswhocontinuetopreserveand
promotearchaicpoliciesthatunderminefreeexpressionmustbe
heldaccountabletheiractions.

Philippines

ThePhilippines:Threatoflibelchargesloomslarge

o InthePhilippines,theanticybercrimelawimposesbothdirectand
indirectthreatstofreeexpression,butthecountryscriminallibel
lawmaybethegovernmentsworstthreattofreeexpressionoverall.
o Under the countrys 83yearold Revised Penal Code, libel is a
criminaloffensethatmandatesaprisontermofsixmonthstosix
yearsand/orafineof200to6,000pesos(about5to140USdollars).
But the fine is often much higher for those arrested. Veteran
journalist Luis Teodoro has noted that the law against libel has
primarily been used to suppress free expression rather than to
addressmediaabuse.
o Asanalternativetocriminalizingdefamationinthecountry,media
advocateshaveproposedabroadcampaignforpublicmedialiteracy
andselfregulationtocheckandexposemediaabuses.