Indonesia Court Rejects Attack On Child Protection Law

Today's Jakarta Post reports that a 9-judge panel of Indonesia's Constitutional Court has rejected a challenge to a provision in the country's Child Protection Code. Under the law, a person found guilty of persuading children to convert to another religion are subject to five years in jail and/or a Rp 100 million fine. Rev. Ruyandi Hutasoit argued that this violates Indonesia's constitutional provision protecting religious freedom (Constitution, Art. 29). The court held that Hutasoit lacked standing to challenge the law, and that Article 86 of the Child Protection Law did not contradict the Constitution because the statute applies to the use of "tricks, lies or force" to convert children. As result of the ruling, three Christian women jailed last year in West Java for inviting Muslim children to their Sunday school program will stay in prison for three more years.