(CCPJ/IFEX) – On 6 May 1998, Paul Watson, a foreign correspondent and photographer with the “Toronto Star” newspaper of Canada, was arrested by local police in Medan, Indonesia. He had been taking photographs of “a store being looted during violent protests against rising prices”, says the “Toronto Star.” Police confiscated his film when they arrested […]
(CCPJ/IFEX) – On 6 May 1998, Paul Watson, a foreign correspondent and
photographer with the “Toronto Star” newspaper of Canada, was arrested by
local police in Medan, Indonesia. He had been taking photographs of “a store
being looted during violent protests against rising prices”, says the
“Toronto Star.” Police confiscated his film when they arrested him. He was
held for nine hours of questioning and then sent back to his hotel, where he
was to remain, and told not to go outside. He reported that he was being
watched by police outside the hotel. He was then taken in for four more
hours of questioning on 7 May, and is expected back at the police station in
Medan, a city in the North of the country, at 10:00 a.m. on 8 May for more
questioning and a meeting with Indonesian immigration authorities. The
police are holding his passport and his papers.
Editors at the “Toronto Star” told CCPJ that Watson has not been physically
abused, only verbally interrogated. They believe he is to be deported,
possibly by 9 May. Authorities reportedly say Watson entered the country on
“an improper visa”, but Watson told colleagues at the “Toronto Star” that he
visited Indonesia two previous times with the same visa, and that he always
declares his profession to immigration officials.
Officials from the Canadian embassy in Jakarta flew into Medan on 6 May to
review the situation and Canadian authorities have protested the arrest of
Watson to the Indonesian authorities.
