'Serious threat': Indonesia legal reform sparks rights challenges

The government has celebrated the new framework, which replaced the Dutch colonial-era criminal code on January 2, and insisted the overhaul was not seeking to quash freedoms. But activists -- mostly students -- are trying to counter the sweeping legal changes, with some cases already before the nation's highest courts. The new laws pose a "serious threat" to human rights, said Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid. "Civil liberties are increasingly threatened by widespread criminalisation...