Indonesia parliament ratifies criminal code that bans sex outside marriage

Indonesia's parliament on Tuesday approved a criminal code that bans sex outside marriage with a punishment of up to one year in jail, part of a raft of legal changes that critics say undermine civil liberties in the world's third-largest democracy, Qazet.az reports.

The controversial new laws, which apply to Indonesians and foreigners alike, also include a ban on insulting the president or state institutions and expressing views counter to state ideology.

Legislators hailed the passage of the criminal code that the Southeast Asian nation has been discussing revising since declaring independence from the Dutch.

"The old code belongs to Dutch heritage... and is no longer relevant now," Bambang Wuryanto, head of the parliamentary commission in charge of revising the code told lawmakers.

The approval comes even as business groups warned it could harm Indonesia's image as a tourism and investment destination.