A "Tempo" journalist called the incident an attempt to “scare and silence” the Indonesian press into self-censorship.
This statement was originally published on cpj.org on 21 March 2025.
Editor’s note: Three days later on March 22, cleaners at the news outlet Tempo found a box of six rats with their heads cut off, in another incident that the publication called an “act of terror.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the harassment of Indonesia’s leading independent news outlet, Tempo, after a severed pig’s head was delivered to its office in the capital Jakarta on March 19 – weeks after President Prabowo Subianto alleged that foreign-funded media organizations are trying to “divide” the country.
On the same day, protesters gathered outside Indonesia’s Press Council building and demanded it take action against Tempo, accusing the outlet of acting in the interest of “foreign agent,” billionaire financier George Soros.
“This is a dangerous and deliberate act of intimidation,” said CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator Beh Lih Yi. “Tempo is well-known internationally for its fiercely independent reporting; using this playbook from autocrats elsewhere simply will not work. President Prabowo Subianto must uphold press freedom and condemn this highly provocative act if he wants Indonesia to be taken seriously as the world’s third-largest democracy.”
The pig’s head, sent in a cardboard box, was addressed to a female journalist at Tempo who covers politics and hosts a popular podcast program, said Wahyu Dhyatmika, chief executive of Tempo’s digital team. He called the incident an attempt to “scare and silence” the Indonesian press into self-censorship, and said Tempo lodged a police report on Friday.
Tempo has reported critically on the Prabowo government’s policies, including a newly launched multibillion-dollar free school meal program. Founded originally as a weekly magazine in 1971 by CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award winner and writer Goenawan Mohamad, the outlet had been banned twice, first for two months in 1982 and later in 1994. It was relaunched in 1998 after the fall of dictator Suharto, whom Prabowo once served under and who was accused of using military figures to crack down on dissent.
Indonesia’s presidential office expressed “regret” over the incident and said that a robust media is needed in the country.
“We do not know exactly who did it and why the incident happened … Indonesia remains committed to maintaining and protecting freedom of the press and freedom of expression,” spokesperson Philips Vermonte told CPJ via messaging app.
The national police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
