New York, July 5, 2024—Indonesian authorities must conduct an independent and credible investigation into the house fire that killed journalist Sempurna Pasaribu, determine if the blaze was sparked in retaliation for his news reporting, and bring any perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday.
Pasaribu, a contributor to the local Tribrata TV, died with three members of his family in a June 27 house fire in Kabanjahe, Karo Regency, North Sumatra, according to multiple news reports.
The fire occurred days after Pasaribu published a report on Tribrata TV and made personal Facebook posts alleging high-level military involvement in an illegal gambling operation in the area, the news reports said.
“Indonesian authorities must leave no stone unturned in investigating the suspicious death of Tribrata TV journalist Sempurna Pasaribu,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “If senior military officials were involved in his death in retaliation for his investigative reporting, they must be tried and fully prosecuted.”
Pasaribu expressed concerns about his safety and had avoided staying at home as a precautionary measure before the fatal fire, the new reports said. He had returned home briefly to provide his family financial support on the night of the killer blaze, the reports said.
Military officials had called on Tribrata TV to take down the news report but the news group refused, according to the reports. Tribrata TV did not immediately reply to CPJ’s multiple emailed requests for comment.
In a statement, the local Journalists Safety Committee said the fire may have been related to Pasaribu’s reporting of local gambling allegedly organized by a member of the military.
North Sumatra police spokesman Hadi Wahyudi told Agence France Presse that police are “paying special attention to this case” and were investigating “based on facts on the ground, not based on opinions and assumption.”
Major-General Nugraha Gumilar, head of the Indonesian National Armed Forces information center, told the local Indonesian News Agency that he could not confirm military personnel involvement in the case and that the information center was “awaiting findings” from agencies involved in investigating.
Neither the Indonesian police nor the military replied to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.