Indonesia has been placed on the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist as the government of President Prabowo Subianto escalates repression against civic actors, protesters, and independent media.
The move, announced on 30 July 2025 by the Johannesburg-based CIVICUS Monitor, reflects deteriorating conditions for freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.
According to CIVICUS, Indonesia’s status remains “obstructed” — a category signifying severe challenges to civil liberties — but the Watchlist designation highlights a “notable and rapid” decline in civic space.
Indonesia joins Kenya, El Salvador, Serbia, Turkey, and the United States on the list of countries experiencing accelerating attacks on civil freedoms.
Nine months into Prabowo’s presidency, civil society groups report an alarming surge in arrests, threats, and violence targeting rights defenders, students, labour advocates, and journalists.
“Speaking out is becoming a dangerous act in Indonesia’s tightening environment,” said Josef Benedict, Asia researcher at CIVICUS Monitor. “Anyone who criticises the government is being forced into silence through fear, violence, and intimidation.”
From January to June 2025, over 100 human rights defenders were subjected to criminalisation, harassment, or physical assault, according to local organisations.
Those targeted include environmental activists, academics, and anti-corruption campaigners.
Public protests, especially those opposing military legal reforms, have been violently dispersed by police and military forces.
In March, demonstrators protesting revisions to military laws — which increased the armed forces’ influence over civilian institutions — were met with physical violence and media suppression.
Security forces were reported to have assaulted multiple journalists and forced them to delete footage documenting abuse by law enforcement officers.
On International Labor Day in May, 14 people were arrested, including paramedics providing medical support. Thirteen of them were assaulted, with no subsequent accountability for the perpetrators.
At student-led protests in Papua in April, police used tear gas and carried out multiple arrests. In May, another peaceful demonstration at Cenderawasih University was forcibly shut down.
Human rights group KontraS (the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence) experienced systematic harassment between March and May.
Incidents included attempts to break into its Jakarta office, suspicious vehicles monitoring staff movements, and phone lines being overwhelmed by repeated calls from numbers allegedly linked to intelligence agencies.
Media outlets are also under pressure. A journalist from Tempo received a severed pig’s head in the mail, was doxxed, and had relatives subjected to threats online.
In March, Indonesia’s parliament passed a regulation requiring foreign journalists to obtain clearance from police before conducting reporting in the country.
Benedict warned: “In Indonesia today, human rights defenders, protesters, and journalists are being treated like enemies of the state… This isn’t just a failure to protect people’s rights. It reinforces the climate of impunity in the country.”
Beyond physical crackdowns, the Prabowo administration is advancing restrictive legislation.
The revised military law has triggered concern for undermining democratic checks and balances.
Proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) and National Police Law could further empower law enforcement agencies while sidestepping mechanisms of accountability.
In June 2025, the government signed a wiretapping agreement with four major telecom operators, heightening the risk of surveillance and data collection without judicial oversight.
Authorities also continue to employ the controversial Electronic Information and Transactions Law to suppress online dissent and prosecute critical speech.
Benedict said these legislative moves illustrate the administration’s intention to consolidate authority through non-transparent processes, excluding civil society and weakening oversight.
“Adding Indonesia to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist reflects warnings civil society groups in Indonesia have been flagging on dwindling civic freedoms since Prabowo took office,” said Nadine Sherani of KontraS.
She called on the international community to denounce the violations and demand meaningful protections for civic actors.
The CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist is based on assessments from over 20 international partners, including grassroots activists and regional human rights organisations.
Its global civic space ratings range from “open” to “closed,” with Indonesia among 35 nations currently categorised as “obstructed”.
The Watchlist aims to spur urgent advocacy and international attention toward countries undergoing rapid civic space deterioration.
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