Intan Setiawanty, Hammam Izzuddin, Jakarta – The Journalist Safety Committee (KKJ) urged President Prabowo Subianto to show his commitment to press freedom. According to KKJ, the terror acts against Tempo are a test for the new administration to prove whether they are truly in support of press freedom.
The committee evaluated that the terror acts pose a serious threat to press freedom and democracy in Indonesia. They emphasized that press freedom is protected by Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press, which guarantees journalists' right to carry out their duties without threats and pressures.
"KKJ urges President Prabowo to pay serious attention, he must show whether he is pro-press freedom or not," said Coordinator of KKJ Erick Tanjung in a press conference via Zoom on Sunday, March 23, 2025.
KKJ affirmed that the series of terror acts against Tempo are a real threat that cannot be overlooked. If this case is not uncovered, it will further strengthen the signal that the state does not care about press freedom.
"These acts of terror are very systematic. There should be no tolerance or impunity," he said.
He hopes that Prabowo and law enforcement agencies will take concrete actions to uncover the perpetrators and affirm that violence against journalists cannot be tolerated, "We will see how the law enforcement agencies (the police) handle the terror acts against Tempo."
Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Kapolri) General Listyo Sigit Prabowo has instructed the Head of the Indonesian National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Kabareskrim) Commissioner General Wahyu Widada to investigate the case of sending a pig's head and rat carcasses to Tempo's office. The terror acts were previously reported by the Chief Editor of Tempo along with the Journalist Safety Committee (KKJ) on Friday, March 21, 2025.
"In relation to the incidents at Tempo, I have instructed the Head of the Criminal Investigation Department to conduct further investigation," said Listyo after a Ramadan safari at the Grand Mosque of Medan on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
Listyo stated that the police will provide the best service to follow up on this case. He ensured that the police will investigate the incident in accordance with the applicable legal procedures.
The terror against Tempo journalists occurred on March 19 at 16:15 WIB (Western Indonesian Time). Tempo journalist, Cica, only received a package containing a pig's head on March 20 at 15:00 WIB after returning from coverage.
Following the incident, the Tempo editorial office received a second terror package consisting of a box containing rat carcasses. The cleaning staff found the box on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 08:00 WIB.
The cleaning staff initially thought that the cardboard box wrapped in a red rose motif gift paper contained instant noodles. However, upon opening it, they found six rat carcasses with severed heads stacked together in the box. There was no writing inside.
Preliminary examination by the building management indicated that the box containing rat carcasses was thrown by an unidentified person from outside the fence of Tempo's office complex on Jalan Palmerah Barat, South Jakarta, at 02:11 WIB. Security personnel suspected that the box hit a parked car before hitting the asphalt. There were scratch marks on the car as a result of the box hitting it.
Tempo's Chief Editor, Setri Yasra, stated that the rat carcasses delivery further emphasizes the terror against Tempo's editorial office. Prior to the rat carcasses, the Tempo editorial office received a threat message via social media through the Instagram account @derrynoah on March 21, 2025. The account controller stated that they would continue to send terror acts "until your office collapses".
According to Setri, the pig's head and rat deliveries are acts of terror against the media's work and press freedom. "The sender deliberately terrorizes journalists' work," she said. "If the goal is to intimidate us, we are not afraid but stop this cowardly act."
On March 21, 2025, Setri visited the Indonesian National Police Headquarters to report the pig's head package. The package has been handed over to the police as evidence.
The Indonesian National Police Headquarters has formed a team to investigate the sender and the motive. Around 20 police officers visited the Tempo office and took the package containing six rat carcasses sent early on Saturday.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1989801/terror-against-tempo-prabowo-urged-to-take-a-stand-on-press-freedo