Click to expand Image PT Kristus Raja Maumere, a company owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maumere, using excavators to demolish buildings and evict residents on Flores island, Indonesia, January 22, 2025. © 2025 Floresa In Indonesia, Islamist groups have long misused the country’s blasphemy law as a political weapon to target perceived critics of Islam, discriminate against religious minorities, and carry out personal vendettas.Now some members of the Catholic community on Flores Island are using the law against opponents of a church-linked palm plantation. Many affected villagers from the Soge Natarmage and Goban Runut-Tana Ai Indigenous groups opposed the plans proposed by PT Kristus Raja Maumere, a company owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maumere.On January 22, the company used excavators protected by armed men to destroy over 100 houses and evict residents, a number of whom were injured. Several women tried to stop the work by jumping on bulldozers. Agrarian Reform Consortium, representing numerous Indigenous organizations, described the actions as “brutal, barbaric and inhumane.”The demolitions took place while eight villagers, including Indigenous elders, were standing trial at the Maumere district court for allegedly destroying or stealing billboards belonging to the company. Maria Magdalena Leny, one of the accused, admitted taking down a company billboard, saying workers had destroyed some banana and cashew nut trees. Cece Geliting, a salon owner in Maumere, criticized the demolitions by posting a cartoon on Facebook depicting a Catholic priest with an excavator and other posts critical of the church. This prompted the United Catholic Youth Forum, a local group, to report Geliting to the police for committing blasphemy against Catholicism, claiming that her posts had caused “widespread unrest” and “insults the symbol of the Catholic religion.” If convicted, Geliting faces up to six years in prison.During Dutch colonial rule in 1926, the disputed land was turned over to the church. In 2005, PT Kristus Raja Maumere announced it had a permit to develop the land, but this permit lapsed in 2013. In 2023, the company received an extension. The Indigenous community has challenged the ruling, and many are refusing to leave, living among the ruins of their destroyed homes.PT Kristus Raja Maumere has not responded to a letter from Human Rights Watch about the evictions nor the police report filed against Geliting.This is apparently the first time that a Catholic group has sought to use the blasphemy law in predominantly Muslim Indonesia. It’s another warning that Indonesia should repeal the toxic legislation to prevent such abuses.