Usman Hamid , the Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, has spent decades as a human rights defender. But the relentless campaigns of harassment and intimidation designed to silence him have a new dimension in the digital age.

My journey into human rights activism was forged in the blood that stained the pavement of Trisakti University. In my teenage years, my mother got me involved in organizing assistance for people living in poverty. I began to witness the stark socio-economic disparities that existed under former president Suharto, amid widespread corruption and state repression. By May 1998, public frustration had reached boiling point, sparking student protests across Indonesia. What began as a growing unease with social injustice drew me into the movement.…