Jakarta – Legal experts are calling on the government to give protection to prominent human rights activist Haris Azhar in light of a recent report filed against him after he claimed that top officials were involved in drug trafficking.
Rights activists have slammed the defamation report by the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) against Haris, who is the coordinator of human rights watchdog Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).
Haris' posting of an article with the claim, which was based on a statement made by executed drug lord Freddy Budiman, could not be considered a criminal offense as there were no names mentioned in the post, said Miko Ginting from the Center for Policy and Law Studies.
"The country should be giving individual or legal protection to Haris, who revealed information about the alleged support of officials in the narcotics mafia," Miko said on Thursday.
Arif Maulana, a lawyer from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), agreed, saying that as a whistle-blower Haris was entitled to protection from the country's Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK). "By criminalizing Haris, the officials are distorting the purpose of law enforcement," Arif said.
The three institutions reported Haris to the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) on Tuesday, accusing him of violating defamation provisions in the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions Law.