Indonesia’s Parliament has passed a long-awaited and controversial revision of its penal code that criminalizes extramarital sex and applies to citizens and visiting foreigners alike. A parliamentary taskforce finalized the bill in November and lawmakers unanimously approved it Tuesday.
After ratification, the new criminal code must be signed by the president, according to Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Hiraeij. The criminal code will not apply immediately, but takes a maximum of three years to transition from the old code to the new one.
