JAKARTA — An Indonesian court has overturned the conviction of environmental activist Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan on widely criticized hate speech charges for highlighting the damaged caused by illegal shrimp farms in a protected marine park. The May 21 ruling by the Semarang High Court in Central Java province quashes the April 4 conviction handed down by the Jepara District Court that found Daniel’s Facebook post about the environmental degradation of Karimunjawa National Park constituted hate speech and caused public unrest. Daniel was one of the four activists from the environmental movement #SaveKarimunjawa charged under the controversial 2008 law on online speech. The appeal court judges stated that Daniel’s intent in writing the posts was to defend the right to a healthy environment, which is enshrined in Indonesia’s Constitution. Experts had strongly criticized the legal proceedings against the four environmental activists, labeling them as a systematic attempt by the authorities to suppress, scare and stifle dissent using what are known as SLAPP tactics, short for strategic lawsuits against public participation. “Daniel’s acquittal should be a whip for the Indonesian police and attorney general’s office to be careful in applying the law so as not to criminalize activists,” Sekar Banjaran Ari, a coordinator at the NGO Public Interest Lawyer Network (Pil-Net) Indonesia, told Mongabay on May 22. Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan has been acquitted of online hate speech over a Facebook post criticizing illegal shrimp farms operating in Karimunjawa National Park. Image courtesy of Lentera Jawa Tengah. Sekar added that Daniel’s…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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