Committee to Protect Journalists - Indonesia

CPJ condemns attack on pregnant Indonesian reporter

2013-03-05T19:59:06Z

New York, March 5, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an attack on Saturday against a pregnant journalist covering a land dispute in East Kalimantan province, Indonesia. CPJ calls on authorities to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation that leads to the apprehension of all those who participated in the brutal assault, which the journalist said had led to a miscarriage.

Attacks on the Press: Killed in 2012: A Worldwide Roundup

2013-02-14T05:04:35Z

Five journalists killed in jet crash in Indonesia

2012-05-11T18:16:40Z

New York, May 11, 2012--Five journalists were killed in Indonesia on Wednesday when a jetliner slammed into Mount Salak, a volcano south of Jakarta, during a demonstration flight, according to news reports.

Gunmen fire on plane, kill Indonesian journalist

2012-04-10T19:59:14Z

New York, April 10, 2012--Gunmen opened fire on a small plane landing at an airport in Mulia, a town in Indonesia's restive Papua region, on Sunday, killing a journalist and injuring four others, according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Indonesian authorities to launch an immediate investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Attacks on the Press in 2011: Indonesia

2012-02-21T05:18:00Z

With no work-related deaths reported in 2011, Southeast Asia's largest economy and most populous country pulled back from its record high of three fatalities in 2010. The country's vibrant media remained under threat, however, particularly in remote areas. Banjir Ambarita, a contributor to the Jakarta Globe, suffered serious injuries in a March stabbing in apparent reprisal for coverage that linked police to a prisoner sex abuse scandal. No prosecutions were brought in the case by late year. CPJ research shows that corruption was an extremely dangerous beat for reporters; corruption itself was widespread, according to international monitors. Three men were acquitted in the 2010 murder of TV journalist Ridwan Salamun in remote Maluku, with no new arrests made. In June, the Supreme Court acquitted Playboy Indonesia publisher Erwin Arnada, who had been unjustly jailed for eight months on politicized charges of public indecency. While Internet penetration was a relatively low 9.1 percent, Indonesia had the world's second largest number of Facebook subscribers. Legislation passed by the Senate in October would give the intelligence agency expansive new powers to tap telephones and track other communications. The measure awaited President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's signature in late year.

Czech journalist detained, deported from Indonesia

2012-02-14T15:12:37Z

Bangkok, February 14, 2012--Indonesian authorities detained a Czech journalist on Wednesday, then deported him for reporting without official permission from a restricted area of the country, according to news reports.

In Indonesia, journalist's home targeted, child dies

2011-12-16T19:11:51Z

New York, December 16, 2011--Indonesian authorities should conduct a full investigation into Sunday's attack on the home of a journalist who reported on local corruption, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The journalist's one-month-old child died soon after the attack.

Playboy Indonesia editor acquitted of indecency

2011-06-23T21:35:59Z

New York, June 23, 2011--Jailed Indonesian publisher Erwin Arnada was acquitted by the Supreme Court Wednesday of the public indecency charges against him, according to local and international media reports. Arnada was also the editor of the now-dormant Playboy Indonesia, which had appeared for six issues on Indonesia's newsstands in 2006.

CPJ disturbed by acquittal in Indonesian journalist's death

2011-03-10T22:05:01Z

New York, March 10, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by a provincial court's decision in Indonesia to acquit three accused killers of TV journalist Ridwan Salamun. On Wednesday, a panel of judges in the Tual District Court in Maluku declared the three men not guilty of the reduced charge of "persecution" in the mob violence in which Salamun was killed while covering a community clash in Fiditin village.

Journalist stabbed, hospitalized in Indonesia

2011-03-03T17:16:44Z

Bangkok, March 3, 2011--The stabbing of Banjir Ambarita, a freelance reporter who frequently contributes to Indonesia's English-language daily the Jakarta Globe, appears to be related to his reporting linking police to a prisoner sex abuse scandal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Attacks on the Press 2010: Asia Analysis

2011-02-15T05:53:00Z

Partisan Journalism and the Cycle of Repression

by Bob Dietz and Shawn W. Crispin

Lal Wickramatunga's family and publishing house, Leader Publications, have paid dearly in Sri Lanka's highly charged political climate. While Leader's newspapers, including the weekly Sunday Leader, are widely known for tough, independent reporting, they have been caught up in a partisan media environment, one filled with violence and censorship. Wickramatunga's brother has been murdered, his company has been sued, and his journalists face intimidation.

Attacks on the Press 2010: Indonesia

2011-02-15T05:32:00Z

Top Developments
• Nation slides backward on press freedom; censorship threats emerge.
• Three reporters murdered and magazine attacked, all with impunity.

Key Statistic
2: Years' imprisonment given to Playboy Indonesia editor in a politicized prosecution.

Indonesia slipped backward on press freedom as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government sought to balance progressive desires for an industrialized society with the expectations of the country's conservative Islamic population. Three reporters were killed with impunity in rural areas, a magazine was attacked after questioning the financial holdings of top national police officers, and the editor of the defunct Playboy Indonesia was jailed in a politically motivated case. Threats of censorship emerged as some officials called for restrictions on Internet activity. And while the Constitutional Court struck down elements of a Suharto-era book-banning law, it left the government empowered to ban books with court approval.

Indonesian editor dead under suspicious circumstances

2010-12-17T19:25:10Z

New York, December 17, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists joins with Indonesian journalist groups in calling for a full and vigorous investigation into the death of an editor on Kisar, one of the eastern Maluku Islands. Alfrets Mirulewan, chief editor of the Pelangi Weekly, was found with bruises on much of his body at 3 a.m. today, according to Indonesian media reports. He had been missing since Tuesday night.

CPJ asks Indonesian president to intervene in Playboy case

2010-09-30T17:04:29Z

Dear President Yudhoyono: We are greatly concerned about the case of Erwin Arnada, the editor of Indonesia's defunct version of Playboy magazine, who was sentenced to two years in prison for indecency by the Supreme Court. The court tried the case on an appeal from the attorney general's office in July 2009 and some time after that sentenced Arnada to two years in prison for public indecency for publishing purportedly indecent pictures in a 2006 issue of the magazine. The magazine closed in mid-2007 after printing 10 issues.

CPJ urges Indonesia to reverse Playboy editor's conviction

2010-09-09T20:33:42Z

New York, September 9, 2010---The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned about an Indonesian Supreme Court ruling against Erwin Arnada, editor of the now-dormant Playboy Indonesia. Arnada faces up to two years in jail after prosecutors said recently that they would enforce a 2009 Supreme Court ruling that found the magazine's editor guilty of public indecency, according to news reports.