Saiful Mahdi, a university lecturer at the Syiah Kuala University in Aceh Province, was sentenced for defamation to three months in prison and a fine of Rp 10 million (approximately USD $690) for writing in a WhatsApp group chat a message criticizing the university’s hiring process of the candidates of civil servants. On 29 June 2021, the Indonesian Supreme Court rejected his cassation appeal and upheld the lower court’s guilty verdict. Amnesty International is calling on the President to grant Saiful Mahdi him amnesty, as he has been targeted solely for expressing his opinion.
