TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Director Asfinawati opined there was discrimination in law enforcement related to the hacking attack cases handled by the police.

“In terms of human rights, this is a violation by omission or neglect,” said Asfinawati in a discussion with the University of Indonesia Alumni Association (ILUNI) on Wednesday, September 2.

She recalled that on April 27, 2020, an activist Ravio Patra reported a cyberattack against him to Jakarta Metro Police. However, four months after or August 27, 2020, there was no suspect discovered.

When compared to the hacking attack of the website of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Unit in December 2019, the police managed to arrest and detain the suspect in March 2020. “[The suspect] was detained in May at the Attorney General’s Office, and the trials began in June,” Asfinawati said.

She further mentioned a similar case experienced by Lutfi Indrawan who made the police report in September 2019, but the case did not see any progress yet to date.

Additionally, the hacking of news outlet Tempo.co in August 2020. Albeit it occurred recently, Asfinawati compared it to the police handling of the doxxing case experienced by an influencer Denny Siregar. At that time, the police nabbed the suspect within one day.

The lead expert at the Office of the Presidential Staff (KSP), Donny Gahral Adian, rebutted YLBHI’s accusations regarding discrimination in law enforcement. He said the government respected the freedom of expression and followed up hacking attempts against activists and media.

“With regard to time, compared to Denny Siregar’s case, it depends on the case’s complexity. We must have good prejudice towards law enforcers. Give them time to investigate those cases,” said Donny.

Read: Silencing Critical Voices a Democratic Decadence, says YLBHI

FRISKI RIANA