Antonia Timmerman – Instances of violence against journalists dropped in 2012 despite several high-profile abuse allegations levied against the Indonesian Military (TNI) and government officials this year, according to an Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) report.

The press freedom organization recorded some 56 cases where journalists were attacked, verbally threatened or had their equipment destroyed in 2012. Last year, the Legal Aid Foundation for the Press (LBH Pers) reported 96 acts of violence against journalists.

The report documented 18 instances of physical abuse, 15 reports of verbal threats and ten cases of reporters having their equipment smashed. AJI also included instances where journalists were prevented from covering certain stories or protests, censorship of the media and the banning of websites.

There were an additional 12 instances of violence directed at journalists working in Papua, including an attack on Oktovianus Pogau, a freelance reporter who contributes to the Jakarta Globe.

Despite the drop in numbers, AJI chairman Eko Maryadi warned that any blows to press freedom were worrying.

In recent months, several high-profile attacks on the press grabbed headlines in Indonesia. In mid-October, a member of the Indonesian Air Force, Lt. Col. Robert Simanjuntak, was caught on video kicking and choking journalists trying to shoot photos of a downed military plane in Pekanbaru, Riau.

One month later, journalists in Palembang claimed that members of the Indonesian Air Force smashed their equipment and choked another reporter at a demonstration in Sukarmi, Palembang – The reporters were allegedly documenting scenes of soldiers attacking protestors.

In East Nusa Tenggara, a local government official threatened to kill a journalist over a story detailing his expense claims. The 25-member Lembata District Legislative Council had spent some Rp 2.8 billion ($290,000) on travel expenses in 2012, the Pos Kupang newspaper had reported.

The story reportedly angered deputy chairman Yoseph Meran Lagaur enough to shout "You dare to challenge me in Lembata? I could get crazier and I will kill you," three times during a confrontation with a reporter at a local World AIDS Day event.

All of the incidents were common stories in Indonesia, where the TNI and the government routinely rank as the top abusers of the press, Eko said on Friday.

Abused journalists also have little hope of seeing their attackers brought to justice, Eko said. "So far there have been only seven cases handled by the police," he said. "The rest were not investigated and the perpetrators were not caught."

Eko called on the Manado Police to finish their investigation into the stabbing death of AJI member Aryono Linggotu. Aryono, a Metro Manado journalist, was stabbed to death during an argument about his motorcycle's loud exhaust in November. His alleged murderer was arrested by police in late November, but progress on the case is slow, Eko said.

"He was brutally murdered and had been stabbed 14 times, and, until today, his case, which is being handled by Manado Police, has progressed real slow," Eko said. The AJI is taking steps to push for a faster investigation into Aryono's death.

The report also found that gender-based discrimination was still a significant issue in Indonesian newsrooms, including instances of sexual assaults and rules prohibiting women from covering criminal cases or fires.