Indonesia 'shamed'
In Indonesia, news of Sinaga's crimes has elicited shock and anger. The story has gone viral, and on Monday, Sinaga became a trending topic when news of his sentencing broke. His family home has been swamped by the media. A judge said Reynhard Sinaga would "never be safe to be released Many Indonesians took to social media to say Sinaga had brought shame on the country in the eyes of the world. Some called for him to face the death penalty (abolished in Britain in 1965). Others in Indonesia questioned his mental state on social media. But Mr Afero, who met Sinaga during the trial, said he was in a sound state of mind. "I met him three times in prison and he looked happy, healthy and calm," Mr Afero said. "He understands what he's facing and he showed no remorse because he insists he is not guilty. Therefore, he doesn't feel any burden." The judge dismissed Sinaga's defence that his victims had consented to sex with him, calling it "ludicrous" and "nonsense". Indonesians have also taken note of the processes in place in the UK to protect rape victims, such as psychological counselling and anonymity in media reports. "Take note of the way in England the victims are given counselling and trauma healing, while in Indonesia rape victims are always blamed and shamed!" wrote one person on social media. Another said: "See, here they are not saying the victims were wearing 'too-sexy clothes'."Fears of backlash
For Indonesia's LGBT community, Sinaga's case could not come at a worse time. While homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, in recent years there has been a wave of rising intolerance and hatred directed towards the community. On social media, some people have been accused of posting homophobic slurs in response to news articles about Sinaga's case. CCTV footage of Sinaga near his flat was used as evidence at his trials Gay rights activist Hartoyo told the BBC he feared the case "may be used by intolerant groups to push for criminalisation or further attacks on the gay community". "Even though it's clear that this is a criminal case that has nothing to do with the perpetrator's sexuality. This is about an evil person and I hope the local media makes that clear," he said. Like many people in Indonesia and Britain, Hartoyo said he was struggling to "understand why [Sinaga] did it", adding he was "deeply shocked and horrified by the crimes". Indonesian officials say they have no evidence that Sinaga committed sexual assault or rape before moving to the UK.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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