<
https://theconversation.com/journalists-in-indonesia-are-being-killed-threatened-and-jailed-a-new-draft-law-could-make-things-even-worse-234564>
"At dawn on June 27, a journalist for Indonesia’s
Tribrata TV, Rico Sempurna
Pasaribu, was killed in a suspected arson attack at his home, along with his
wife, son and grandchild.
Before his death, Rico investigated and reported on a gambling business in
North Sumatra, which he alleged was backed by a member of the military. The
police have arrested two suspects.
The incident is not the first suspected arson involving journalists in North
Sumatra. On March 21, the house of Junaidi Marpaung, a journalist from
Utama
News, was also burned down by unknown individuals. Junaidi and his family
narrowly escaped.
The attack happened after Junaidi reported on drug trafficking in the region
and received several threats via social media.
Press freedom is increasingly under attack in Indonesia. The Indonesian
Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has recorded more than 1,000 cases of
violence against journalists since 2006, with the single highest year coming in
2023 (87 incidents).
AJI’s 2023 report found that the journalists who were targeted largely reported
on issues of public accountability, corruption, social and criminal issues, and
environmental issues. And the attacks included verbal and physical threats
(including torture, confinement and kidnappings), gender-based sexual
harassment and assaults, terror and intimidation.
Police reports were only filed in 20 of the 87 incidents, and just seven cases
were followed up. Two of those ended with convictions in a court, while four
others led to arrests. One closed case was reopened for further investigation.
Given this, it should come as no surprise that Indonesia sits at a lowly number
111 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index this
year."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
