Jubilee Campaign, February 08, 2006
Constitutional Challenge Rejected in Case of Indonesian Sunday
School Teachers
Note: Scroll over photos to see captions.
Jubilee Campaign has learned that Indonesia's Constitutional Court last month denied
an appeal on behalf of three Christian Sunday School teachers convicted last year of
trying to convert Muslim children. Lawyers representing a Christian political party had
challenged the Child Protection Act, the law the women were found guilty of breaking,
as unconstitutional. The Court, however, ruled that the Act is indeed in line with the
constitution and does not need to be amended.
 As we reported last year, Dr. Rebekka
Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun
were accused under the Child Protection
Act when local Muslim leaders in the
Indramayu district of West Java learned
that Muslim children had been
participating in the women's "Happy
Sunday " program. Although the women
made plausible claims that they had
secured the permission of the Muslim
parents before allowing the children to
enroll, and although none of the children
had converted to Christianity, the Muslim Clerics Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia or
MUI) persisted in their accusations. Through out-and-out intimidation of the
defendants, potential witnesses and even the trial judges, they got the guilty verdict
they wanted. The women were sentenced in September to three years in prison. They
have been in jail since their original arrest in May 2005.
Lawyers representing the women have pledged to continue their quest to have the
Child Protection Act amended. They claim that its provisions contradict the
Indonesian constitution's protection of every citizen's freedom to practice the religion
of her or his choice.
For more on this story, click on one or more of the following links:
Read a January 24 article from Compass Direct News Service: "Indonesian Court
Rejects Legal Intervention for Jailed Teachers"
Read a January 18 article from the Jakarta Post: "Jailed Teachers' Hope for Release
Dashed"
See the coverage of the women's trial at the Jubilee Campaign web site
Watch gripping video footage of the verdict against the women
Indonesian Court Rejects Legal Intervention for Jailed Teachers
Judges say the Child Protection Act is consistent with the country's constitution.
by Sarah Page
DUBLIN, January 24 (Compass) – Judges at Indonesia's Constitutional Court on
January 17 ruled that the Child Protection Act is in line with the constitution and
should not be amended.
The Rev. Ruyandi Hutasoit of the Prosperous Peace Party had challenged Article 86
of the Act, which was used as the basis for sentencing Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti
Pangesti and Ratna Bangun to three years in prison on September 1, 2005.
The Christian Sunday school teachers were arrested in May 2005 after members of
the local Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI or Muslim Clerics Council) in Indramayu
district, West Java, accused them of trying to convert Muslim children.
 Judges at the September trial found the
women guilty of breaching the Child
Protection Act, saying they had used
"deceitful conduct, a series of lies and
enticements to seduce children to change
their religion against their wills."
The maximum sentence under Article 86
of the Act is a five-year jail term and/or a
100 million rupiah (US$10,536) fine for
anyone found guilty of persuading children
to convert to another religion.
Lawyer Posma Rajagukguk lodged an appeal at the High Court in Bandung, the
provincial capital of West Java, in mid-September, but the appeal was rejected in
November. (See Compass Direct, "High Court Rejects Appeal for Schoolteachers in
Indonesia," December 21, 2005.)
Legal Challenge
Rev. Hutasoit, of Church of the Shining Christian in Jakarta, then presented his own
legal challenge. His lawyers argued that Article 86 of the Act contravened the
constitution, which guarantees all citizens the freedom to practice the religion of their
choice.
Rev. Hutasoit had asked that the Act be reviewed on these grounds, The Jakarta Post
reported.
Judge Jimly Asshiddique, however, said Rev. Hutasoit had no right to contest the
Child Protection Act, since he had not experienced any "direct losses" under the Act.
The court also ruled that Article 86 was consistent with the constitution – since the
article clearly forbade the use of "tricks, lies or force" to convert children.
Rev. Hutasoit's lawyer, Henri Rudiono Lie, told The Jakarta Post he would consider
filing another appeal, saying, "Maybe we can find someone else who was victimized
by this law as the judges suggested."
Rajagukguk also plans to appeal the women's conviction in a higher court.
Judges, Witnesses Intimidated
Zakaria, Pangesti and Bangun launched their "Happy Sunday" Christian education
program in September 2003, at the request of a school in the Harguelis  sub-district
of Indramayu. The school had asked them
to conduct the program for Christian
children in compliance with the National
Education System Bill that came into
effect in June 2003.
When Muslim children asked to join the
programs and outings, the women insisted
that their families give prior permission.
The children's parents met this condition,
although consent was verbal rather than
written.
During the trial, defense attorneys pointed out that several of the Muslim parents were
photographed with their children during the Sunday school activities, proof that they
had allowed their children to attend.
When the trial began, truckloads of Muslim youth arrived outside the courtroom,
waving banners and using loudspeakers to intimidate the judges. At one court session
they brought a coffin with them, warning the judges that the accused must be found
guilty.
The Muslim parents who had allowed their children to attend the program were
intimidated by the furor and refused to testify in support of the accused.
© 2006 Compass Direct
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Jailed teachers' hope for release dashed
Tb. Arie Rukmantara
The Jakarta Post, 18 January 2006
Three Christian women jailed in the West Java town of Indramayu for inviting Muslim
children to their Sunday school last year will stay in prison for three more years, after
the Constitutional Court rejected a legal challenge to the ruling.
The court rejected on Tuesday a plea filed by a clergyman to strike off an article in the
Child Protection Law, which the Indramayu District Court used to put the women
behind bars.
The court ruled that the Rev. Ruyandi Hutasoit had no legal standing in the case and
that the article he challenged was not in conflict with the Constitution.
The article in the Child Protection Law rules that people found guilty of persuading
children to convert to another religion are subject to five years in jail and/or a Rp 100
million fine.
Hutasoit argued the article contradicted one in the Constitution guaranteeing people
the freedom to practice the religion of their choice.
The Indramayu District Court judges ruled last year that the three Christian women --
Rebecca Zakaria, Eti Pangestu and Ratna Bangun -- violated the article in the Child
Protection Law by persuading Muslim minors to convert to Christianity without their
parents' consent.
The verdict drew criticism from Muslim and Christian communities in the area, who
said the children had voluntarily gone to the school and had not changed their religion.
A panel of nine Constitutional Court judges decided that Ruyandi had no right to
contest the law because he had not experienced any "direct losses" in the case.
"Because the plaintiff has no legal standing to appeal for a legal review, the court
decides that his request ... is denied," Judge Jimly Asshiddique said.
The court also ruled that Article 86 of the Child Protection Law did not contradict the
Constitution, because the article clearly forbade the use of "tricks, lies or force" to
convert children.
Ruyandi's lawyer, Henri Rudiono Lie, said he would need time to decide if he would
file another appeal.
"Maybe we can find someone else who was victimized by this law as the judges
suggested," Henri told The Jakarta Post.
Henri said the article hampered the practice of Christianity in Muslim-dominated
regions.
© 2006 The Jakarta Post
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As we reported last year, Dr. Rebekka
Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun
were accused under the Child Protection
Act when local Muslim leaders in the
Indramayu district of West Java learned
that Muslim children had been
participating in the women's "Happy
Sunday " program. Although the women
made plausible claims that they had
secured the permission of the Muslim
parents before allowing the children to
enroll, and although none of the children
had converted to Christianity, the Muslim Clerics Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia or
MUI) persisted in their accusations. Through out-and-out intimidation of the
defendants, potential witnesses and even the trial judges, they got the guilty verdict
they wanted. The women were sentenced in September to three years in prison. They
have been in jail since their original arrest in May 2005.
Judges at the September trial found the
women guilty of breaching the Child
Protection Act, saying they had used
"deceitful conduct, a series of lies and
enticements to seduce children to change
their religion against their wills."
sub-district
of Indramayu. The school had asked them
to conduct the program for Christian
children in compliance with the National
Education System Bill that came into
effect in June 2003.