Jakarta, Dec 14 (IANS): An Indonesian court on Thursday rejected the petition of a conservative organisation to criminalise sexual relations outside of marriage and between people of the same sex.

The petition to reform the criminal code was dismissed by five of the nine judges, reports Efe news.

The petition was filed in 2016 by a university professor and 11 members of the Family Love Alliance.

It sought to amend the articles pertaining to adultery, sex with underage and rape to include cases between people of the same sex. It received support from several conservative Muslim groups.

Several organisations and activists have reported an increase in homophobic rhetoric and repression by the authorities since the beginning of 2016.

In March, two gay men in Aceh were caned in public 83 times.

Andreas Harsono, a researcher with Human Rights Watch in Indonesia, told Efe that the court's decision will not improve the plight of gay people. At least 200 gay people were arrested this year.

Indonesia has a population of 260 million, of which 88 per cent are Muslims.