Jakarta – The People's Coalition for Military Court Monitoring (KRPM) reported the intimidation of journalists covering the Cebongan trial to the press council, asking for an immediate response before things get worse.

A member of the coalition, the Alliance of Independent Journalists' (AJI) Yogyakarta branch, managed to gather evidence that showed some reporters had been summoned by a man who identified himself as a staffer of the legal team for the 12 Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) soldiers currently on trial.

Among the evidence, AJI Yogyakarta recorded that on Monday, a man who had identified himself as Gilang, told the deputy chief editor of Tribun Jogja, Setya Krisna Sumargo, that he had been invited to a meeting with the legal team at the Yogyakarta Military Police facility.

Gilang, however, refused to reveal the meeting's agenda and to move the meeting place to a more neutral area. Gilang also refused to use his legal right to seek clarification if the team thought their views were not properly expressed by Tribun Jogja.

"According to the Press Law, any party who objects to media reports should contact the media outlet to clarify the facts. They should not summon the reporters," a press release by the KRPM made available to The Jakarta Post said on Tuesday. (fan/dic)