Amnesty activist arrested for song against Indonesian forces

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Amnesty International’s Indonesian arm says one of its board members has been arrested after a video of him singing a protest song against the military circulated online.

The rights group says Robertus Robet, a sociology professor at State University of Jakarta, was arrested on Wednesday evening for alleged online criminal defamation under an electronic information law that is increasingly used to curb free speech.

The song dates to the 1998 student-led movement against former dictator Suharto.

Robet sang it on Feb. 28 at a Jakarta protest against unresolved cases of rights abuses and plans to give jobless generals roles in the civilian bureaucracy.

National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said Thursday that Robet is being investigated for hate speech and faces up to two years in prison if convicted.