(AJI/IFEX) – In a 12 July 2000 letter to National Police Chief Roesdihardjo, AJI stated that it is deeply alarmed over the violent acts recently committed against Edi Saputra Hasibuan, a reporter with “Pos Kota” daily. The reporter was attacked by members of the Islamic Defender Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI). On Friday 7 July, […]
(AJI/IFEX) – In a 12 July 2000 letter to National Police Chief Roesdihardjo, AJI stated that it is deeply alarmed over the violent acts recently committed against Edi Saputra Hasibuan, a reporter with “Pos Kota” daily. The reporter was attacked by members of the Islamic Defender Front (Front Pembela Islam, FPI).
On Friday 7 July, Hasibuan was beaten up by FPI members while covering the group’s protest in front the National Police Headquaters on Jl. Trunojoyo in South Jakarta, Indonesia. He was attacked by FPI members for allegedly defaming the group’s operational division deputy chairman, M Alwi Usman.
Minutes before the attack, Hasibuan stood up in the middle of some 300 of the group’s members who were demanding the police prosecute noted businessman Sofyan Wanandi, for his alleged involvement in playing Islamic figures off against each other.
In the middle of the noisy protest, a man in a long cream coloured shirt with a cell phone pointed at Hasibuan. “He is the one who accused FPI members of carrying money!,” the man, who was later identified as Zainuddin, an FPI lawyer, yelled. Members of the group then beat Hasibuan several times. As a result of the attack, he suffered light injuries, his shirt was torn and his glasses were broken.
After the incident, Zainuddin said that Hasibuan had defamed the group’s executive officer, Usman. “I was standing next to him when he yelled that M Alwi Usman kept a lot of money in his bag,” he said. Hasibuan later stated that he did not mean to defame the group executive and was only joking to his friend Edison Siahaan from “Warta Kota” daily. “I didn’t say that he (Usman) and the group, were being paid. I only told my friend that the bag carried by Pak Haji might have a lot of money in it,” he said, referring to Usman as Pak Haji (a Muslim who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca).
Together with other media advocacy groups in Indonesia, AJI is closely monitoring this case with great concern, and is looking forward to receiving a prompt response from the national police chief.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the national police chief:
– condemning the attack in the strongest possible language, noting that such an event points to the deterioration of the state of press freedom in Indonesia
– suggesting that journalists should be able to carry out their professional duties without fear of harassment and attack, and that such incidents foster a climate of fear that inhibits journalistic investigation and can lead to self-censorship
– calling on him to ensure that the investigation into the attacks against Hasibuan which has begun, be carried out swiftly, and that those responsible for the attacks are brought to justice
– asking him to guarantee journalists’ safety
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
General (Police) Roesdihardjo
National Police Chief
Jl. Trunojoyo No.3, Jakarta Selatan
Fax: +62 21 7207277
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
