ID cards belonging to journalists in Malang, East Java, lie on the floor along with flower offerings during a ritual to mark World Press Freedom Day at the city’s square on May 3, 2023. During the event, the journalists expressed their concern about the rampant violence they faced. - JP
JAKARTA: Civil groups have raised concerns over violence against press workers and growing restrictions on press freedom following the alleged arson attack that left a reporter in North Sumatra dead, as well as assaults against several journalists in Jakarta.
The Journalist Safety Commission (KKJ), an alliance of journalist associations, said incidents of violence against journalists had been growing in recent years even before the cases in North Sumatra and Jakarta took place.
"Data from the AJI [Association of Independent Journalists] show there were 87 attacks against journalists last year, the highest in history,” KKJ coordinator Erick Tanjung told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
In many of these incidents, press workers faced intimidation, violence and were even murdered because of their jobs, Erick said. But this number too, he said, was only the tip of the iceberg amid indications that many assaults against journalists in remote regions went unreported.
According to Erick, many victims did not report their assaults to the police because they doubted that the police would handle their cases professionally.
Meanwhile, those who report the attacks often fail to see their cases go to court.
“Many of the perpetrators are not held accountable for their actions," Erick said.
AJI Jakarta office head Irsyan Hasyim has urged the police to act against those who assault journalists, as part of efforts to ensure a free press.
"Every case of violence against journalists must be taken seriously so that we can finally put a stop to injustices against press workers," he said recently as quoted by Antara.
Last week several journalists were assaulted by supporters of former agriculture minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo when covering news about Syahrul’s sentencing at the Jakarta Corruption Court.
Dozens of reporters surrounded Syahrul as he left the courtroom to ask him questions about his 10-year prison sentence in a corruption case.
Limpo’s supporters, however, refused to let him answer the questions and tried to make way for the former minister by violently pushing the journalists away.
Some of them hit and kicked a Kompas TV journalist, damaging his camera. Another camera belonging to a TV One reporter and a tripod owned by an iNews TV journalist were also damaged during the incident.
The Jakarta Police have named two suspects in the incident on Monday and they are currently facing up to five years in prison for battery.
The incident in Jakarta took place only a few weeks after 47-year-old journalist Rico Sempurna Pasaribu was killed in a house fire in Karo, North Sumatra, in an incident allegedly linked to his reporting on an illegal gambling ring.
Rico worked as a journalist for the police’s Tribrata TV. He died in the fire on June 27, along with his wife and child and his three-year-old grandchild.
An ongoing investigation by the North Sumatra Police found an indication of arson and investigators have arrested three suspects in the case, all of whom were Rico's acquaintances.
The police accused one suspect of allegedly paying two other suspects Rp 2 million (US$123) to pour gasoline at Rico's house in the early hours of June 27 and set it on fire.
Police have not yet discovered the motive behind the alleged arson. But Rico's fellow journalists and family members are suspicious that his death could be related to his reporting on illegal gambling in the regency that allegedly involved Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel.
An independent investigation by the KKJ found that before his death, Rico had asked for protection from the Karo Police. He even planned to take his family to stay at the police office for a while.
The KKJ also found that a TNI member had reached out to Tribrata TV's editor-in-chief multiple times to take down Rico's article.
Erick of the KKJ said that in the past few days his team had reported their suspicions to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) and asked the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) to protect the family of Rico after the team found indications of alleged intimidation by the police.
The KKJ team also met representatives from the Executive Office of the President on Wednesday to submit the report of their independent investigation.
The team urged the President to ensure a thorough and transparent investigation into Rico's death.
"The government is responsible for ensuring that all press workers remain safe and protected when doing their job as mandated by the Press Law," Erick said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
