Newsweek is reporting that Indonesian YouTuber Ferdian Paleka could face up to 12 years in prison following a transphobic “prank” he and his friends filmed and posted earlier this year.
Paleka’s channel has a pretty substantial following despite being a relative newcomer to the platform. At the time of writing, the account has been around for about 5 months, and yet it is well past the 100k subscribers mark with over 9 million total views.
Image: ferdian paleka/youtube
The “prank” video has since been deleted for violating YouTube’s terms of service after a mass-flagging campaign brought it to the company’s attention. Footage still survives on the platform, however, in the form of reaction/commentary videos and some apparent reposts.
In the video, after throwing around some transphobic slurs on camera, Paleka gave out “aid packages” to trans women, claiming it was food.
Image: ferdian paleka/youtube
Upon opening it, they discovered it was actually rotten bits from the garbage and chunks of concrete.
Image: ferdian paleka/youtube
The video sparked a lot of outrage, though not, initially, any criminal charges. PinkNews reports that in a follow-up false apology video, Paleka seems unphased by the backlash, stating “I personally would like to apologize for what I’ve done… not.”
Image: ferdian paleka/youtube
The Indonesian government is not known for being particularly progressive when it comes to LGBT issues. As Paleka himself states in the original video, “[Trans people] do not obey the government, so, don’t blaspheme us—we only want to help the government.”
But, perhaps giving into immense public pressure, police later arrived at his home amid a swarm of protesters, leading to a chase which ultimately resulted in his arrest. He is being charged under Indonesia’s Information and Electronic Transactions law, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 12 years in prison.