Indonesian court throws out petition to ban sex outside marriage

Indonesia’s Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a petition to criminalize consensual sex outside of marriage.

The petition was filed by a group of conservative academics, who argued that provisions in the criminal code on adultery should extend to sex involving unmarried people.


The petitioners also wanted sex between people of the same sex to be outlawed.

Five judges of the nine-judge panel rejected the petition.

The judges who rejected the petition argued that it was not in line with civil liberties afforded by the constitution.

They also said the court had no authority to criminalize activities.

Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, where many see sex outside of marriage as taboo.(dpa/NAN)