Indonesia
Men charged with murder of journalist acquittedPosted Mar 16 2011
On March 9, judges in the Tual District Court in Maluku, Indonesia, acquitted three men charged with the murder of TV journalist, Ridwan Salamun, with machetes on August 21, 2010. There have been disputes over whether or not Salamun was only reporting on the clash in Fiditin village or also joined the fighting according to The Jakarta Post.
“[Ridwan] was not involved in the clash as a journalist but as a resident of one of the clashing neighborhoods,” according to a police report.
“Three witnesses saw Ridwan was on the scene only to do his duty as journalist covering the incident. Unlike the claim made by the defendants, Ridwan did not bring with him a machete,” Kabul Supriyadhi of the National Commission of Human Rights said on March 9.“They saw him carrying only a handycam [video recorder] with the power switched on.”
“That the men who, according to many witnesses, hacked Ridwan Salamun to death should be acquitted is frightening,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ's Asia program coordinator . “Indonesia's reputation as a country with a free press and an unbowed press corps has taken a beating in recent years. We call on the Supreme Court to overturn this verdict on appeal.”
The Attorney General’s Office plans to appeal the case to the Supreme Court in no more than 14 days.
“It might set a bad precedent and give further impetus to commit violence against journalists,” Nezar Patria, chairman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists said.