The attack came on the heels of a "Tempo" cover story on the suspicious bank accounts of several high-ranking police officers.
(AJI/IFEX) – Two unidentified men riding tandem on a motorcycle hurled three Molotov cocktails at the “Tempo” magazine office in Jakarta, in the early morning of 6 July 2010, media reports said.
The “Jakarta Post” said two of the bombs exploded but the resulting fire was quickly extinguished. One of the magazine’s security guards said the two suspects threw the bombs at around 2:40 am in “Tempo”‘s office in Menteng, South Jakarta.
Antara news agency said Press Council chairman Bagir Mana condemned the attack as a threat to the country’s press freedom.
“It doesn’t make sense that in this era of free speech and press freedom, this kind of violence can still happen,” he said, adding that “this attack is not only a threat to ‘Tempo’, but also national press freedom.”
The “Jakarta Post” noted that the arson attack came on the heels of a “Tempo” cover story on the suspicious bank accounts of several high-ranking police officers.
On 28 June, the “Jakarta Post” reported that 10 men – thought to be policemen – bought 2,425 copies of the magazine’s issue that had the cover story “Police officers’ fat bank accounts” from a major newspaper and magazine distribution outlet in Harmoni, Central Jakarta.
Another distributor in Central Jakarta reported that a man bought 1,200 copies of the same issue of the magazine, while in Bandung, West Java, 1,100 copies of “Tempo” were sold out before 9 am the same day.
The magazine reported that at least seven high-ranking police officers were allegedly hoarding billions of rupiah in their bank accounts, transferred from third parties.
