By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-03-10 11:31:24 | Updated at 2025-03-10 14:10:09
2 hours ago
An Indonesian court sentenced a transgender woman to more than two years in prison Monday for an online remark about Jesus’ hair, a local official said, in a case condemned by rights groups.
Ratu Thalisa was found guilty by a court in Medan city on the western island of Sumatra of spreading hatred under a widely-criticised online hate-speech law in a TikTok livestream, Dapot Dariarma of the local prosecutor’s office said.
The judge handed the woman – a Muslim according to court documents – a sentence of two years and 10 months, he said.
In the livestream in October, Ratu was reportedly shown talking to a picture of Jesus on her smartphone and telling him to cut his long hair.
Ratu, who sold beauty products online, was reportedly responding to a comment that told her to cut her hair to avoid appearing like a woman.
Rights groups, who have slammed the electronic information law as too vague and open to misuse against religious minorities, called for the sentence to be quashed.
