Amnesty Condemns Sealing of House of Worship in Tangerang: Violates Human Rights
Amnesty International Indonesia has criticised the actions of the Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) in sealing a house of worship owned by the congregation of the Persatuan Oikumene Umat Kristiani (POUK) Tesalonika in Teluknaga sub-district, Tangerang, some time ago.
Deputy Director of Amnesty International, Wirya Adiwena, stated that the sealing by Satpol PP constitutes a violation of human rights, specifically the right to assemble and worship.
“We condemn this intolerant action. Instead of guaranteeing the rights of religious groups to worship, the state has become an actor in human rights violations by sealing their place of worship,” Wirya said in a written statement on Tuesday (7/4).
According to him, the local government’s claim that it does not prohibit worship and provides a former sub-district office hall as a temporary venue does not resolve the substance of the human rights violation.
Furthermore, relocating the congregation to temporary facilities does not automatically eliminate the discriminatory status of the sealing action.
He stated that religious-based discrimination in Indonesia is structural because it receives support from state apparatus.
Throughout 2025, Amnesty International recorded at least 14 cases of religious freedom violations committed by citizens or state apparatus, mostly in the form of rejections of places of worship or closures of places of worship.
In various cases, he said, citizens’ desires to build places of worship often face unilateral rejections from other community groups, leading to discriminatory actions.
“Ironically, state apparatus often bow to mass pressure and tend to seal places of worship on administrative grounds,” he said.
Amnesty calls on the Tangerang government to remove the seal and guarantee the rights of Christians to conduct their worship freely without any threats.
The central government is asked to conduct a comprehensive, independent, impartial, and effective investigation into the human rights violations in this incident.
Meanwhile, at the national level, the government is urged to take significant steps by revoking the Joint Decree (SKB) of the Minister of Religious Affairs and the Minister of Home Affairs Numbers 9 and 8 of 2006.
According to him, the regulation governing the establishment of places of worship in practice often serves as a legal basis to complicate and discriminate against minority groups due to requirements vulnerable to majority pressure.
“Freedom of religion is an absolute human right guaranteed by the constitution. The government must act as a protector for all citizens equally, rather than becoming an actor that perpetuates worship restrictions behind bureaucratic and building permit issues,” he said.
Quoting detikcom, the sealing of the POUK Tesalonika house of worship occurred on Friday (3/4) after Good Friday worship and went viral on social media.
In the viral video, a number of people along with Satpol PP members arrived at the location and installed a sealing sign on the building.
Local residents’ representatives at the site also requested that no more activities take place at the POUK Tesalonika house of worship. They also urged the congregation representatives to issue a statement letter to stop operations at the house of worship.
Recently, the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) intervened to resolve the polemic.
A deliberation was led by the Special Staff of the Minister of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Gugun Gumilar. Attendees included Teluk Naga Sub-district Head Kurnia Deden Syukron, Satpol PP Chief Ana Supriatna, Pastors Michael Siahaan and Balo Napitupulu, POUK Council Chairman Oktaviyanto, Chairman of the POUK Tesalonika Tangerang Foundation Ledan Pakpahan, Head of General and Administration Division of the Banten Ministry of Human Rights Regional Office Erwin Firmansyah, and FKUB representative Baihaqi.
One of the agreement points was the lifting of the seal on the house of worship.