The top court in Indonesia ruled on Friday that a woman must serve six months in prison after she recorded a lewd phone call from her boss in order to prove he had been harassing her.
Nuril Maknun, 41, was found guilty by the Supreme Court of Indonesia of distributing obscene materials after she recorded the call in an effort to thwart unwanted sexual advances. She has also been fined roughly $35,000.
Maknun worked as a bookkeeper for a high school in the island of Lombok. The man, who goes by the name Muslim, is the school’s principal. Muslim has not received any punishment for behavior and has been promoted multiple times.
The ruling comes the day after a panel of judges rejected Maknun’s request to have her case reviewed. Friday’s decision to impose the sentence and fine was a rejection of her last available appeal. Maknun was acquitted for the crime in 2018, but prosecutors appealed to have the case reopened.
Lombok is a predominantly Muslim island and is known for being very religiously conservative. Women’s rights activists have identified Indonesia as a country known to have problems with sexual harassment and laws and customs that do not serve to protect women from harassment or abuse.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said he would consider granting Maknun clemency in the case, and one of his aides said officials are reviewing the matter to consider possible next steps.
After the Supreme Court’s decision, Maknun said, “I, as a woman, should be protected, but then I was the one who became the victim.” She also referred to the decision as “obvious injustice.”
