(Aceh, Indonesia) ... On January 22 at around 11:30pm, the victim, Hartayo, a 32 year-old NGO worker in the Aceh province, was at home with his partner, Bobby, when two men, one of whom the victims identified as an employee of the local Pesona cafe below his boarding house, kicked down his front door and barged into his home, and proceeded to vandalize the property before assaulting both Hartayo and his partner.

Hartayo and Bobby were then forced out of their home and ordered to go outside by their attackers, where a crowd of some 15 people had gathered. The beatings and verbal abuse continued. Hartayo specifically recalled the words of one of his attackers: "You outsiders slander us; you soil our place with your filthy tricks."

[...]

Four police officers arrived at the scene about 1.30am in an official police vehicle. Hartayo and Bobby were then taken to the Banda Raya police station. There, both men were allegedly made to strip down to their underwear, and were then viciously beaten and verbally abused by the officers.

In his testimony, Hartayo alleges that the officers sexually abused him and then forced his partner to perform oral sex on him. Hartayo started weeping and attempted to push his partner away, only to be kicked and scolded by the officers who took some perverse "enjoyment" out of their humiliation.

The victims were then dragged to the police station courtyard where they were made to squat on the ground in their underwear. Officers then sprayed them with ice-cold water from the courtyard hosepipe. At this point, Bobby asked the officers for permission to go to the toilet. The officers refused, and instead forced him to urinate on Hartayo's head.

[...]

At around 9:00am on January 23, Hartayo was finally allowed to speak to his fellow NGO co-workers, although for not longer than five minutes. Both Hartayo and Bobby were asked by representatives from the Aceh NGO Coalition whether they wanted to file a formal complaint. Physically and mentally exhausted, both men decided not to pursue the case, and were then made to sign a statement to the Village Head Chief not to indulge in homosexual actions again.

(Jakarta, Indonesia) Papua, Indonesia reportedly may become the first area in the world to mandate people with HIV/AIDS have microchips implanted in their bodies so that their behavior can be monitored in a bid to keep them from passing on the virus to others.

The Agence France Presse reports that legislation is being prepared for the state government.

"Some of the infected people experience a change of behavior and can turn more aggressive and would not think twice of infecting others," Dr. John Manangsang who is helping prepare the bill told the AFP.

Manangsang said the microchip would be used only on people deemed likely to transmit the AIDS virus.

[...]

The state health department says the area has about 3,000 living with HIV/AIDS out of a total population of 2.5 million people.

Manangsang said the microchip would be used only on people deemed likely to transmit the AIDS virus.

Members of a hardline Islamic group tried to storm theatres to stop screenings, but as the festival enters its sixth year, organizer John Badalu has no such fears.

The opening of the week-long Q! Film Festival (QFF) on Friday drew a flamboyant crowd in Jakarta, with members of the audience dressed in colorful wigs, fish-net stockings and cupid wings. Homosexuality is not banned under Indonesian law, but remains taboo in a country where 85 percent of the 220 million people are Muslim.

"The festival has provided some sort of impetus for the gay rights movement in Indonesia, and has enabled many issues to surface," Badalu said.

[...]

"What I like about the QFF is that it is a subtle movement," said Firliana Purwanti, program officer for human rights and gender at HIVOS, a Dutch agency that helped fund the festival.

"The community, by using the language of movies and keeping such a fluid structure, has enabled the rapid spread of gay rights."

This year's festival was almost pulled - not because of opposition from Muslim hardliners but for lack of funding. "The festival was on the brink of extinction," said Badalu. He fired off e-mails seeking financing to everyone in his address book, some of which were posted on blogs.

"A gas station worker from the Midwest sent me a long letter, describing how he, a simple working-class guy, sympathized with the festival's mission. At first I thought the letter was a joke, it was so long. But then at the bottom of the letter he said he had donated $100."