TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia condemns the intimidation experienced by a Detikcom columnist for criticizing the placement of the military in civilian positions. AJI Indonesia urges the Chief of the Indonesian National Police to investigate the case.
"As law enforcement officers, they need to act quickly and seriously investigate this case of terror and intimidation," said AJI Indonesia's Chairperson Nany Afrida in a statement on Sunday, May 25, 2025. If left unchecked, Nany believes that this terror case will create a bad precedent that threatens civil liberties.
In addition to the Indonesian National Police, AJI also urges the National Commission on Human Rights to investigate this case. Furthermore, AJI also encourages Detikcom to report this case to the police and provide legal protection for its columnist.
According to Nany, the intimidation experienced by the columnist with the initial YF constitutes a threat to press freedom and freedom of expression. This action is considered a real form of suppression of the freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution and Press Law No. 40 of 1999.
Nany stated that the terror against opinion writers is not only an attack on individuals in expressing themselves, but also threatens the public's right to information and the pillars of democracy. Such terror, according to Nany, is also experienced by sources and opinion writers who voice criticism of public policies.
"This pattern indicates a systematic effort to create an intimidating effect so that people are afraid to express their opinions, and the media is reluctant to open space for critical voices," said Nany. She mentioned that this case adds to the long list of intimidation against freedom of expression in the government of President Prabowo.
She demands that President Prabowo affirm his commitment to democracy in Indonesia and withdraw the military occupying civilian positions.
The columnist at Detikcom claimed to have been physically assaulted by an unknown individual after their article about a general holding a civilian position was published on Detikcom on Thursday, May 22, 2025. In the article, the writer criticized the appointment of Lieutenant General Djaka Budi Utama as the Director General of Customs, which was considered to violate the principles of meritocracy in the filling of state civil servant positions.
Detikcom has retracted the article citing the safety of its writer.
Sultan Abdurrahman contributed to the writing of this article.
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