Jakarta – The Indonesian Journalists Association has condemned a Tuesday attack on a group of journalists by a gang of more than a dozen men in Kutai Kartanegara on Tuesday.

Association chairman Ismed Hasan Putro and secretary general Fikar W. Eda said the incident was a serious threat to press freedom in Indonesia. They demanded the police investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Three journalists in the group were injured when they were attacked by a gang of men when they stopped at the Kukar Bridge landmark on their way from Samarinda to Tenggarong in Kutai Kartanegara. The gang were believed to have followed the group in cars.

The attack came after the journalists attended a press briefing with East Kalimantan Governor Suwarna. During the meeting, a journalist questioned the usefulness of a visit by Kutai Kartanegara regent Syaukani and 116 of his staff to an International Labor Organization meeting in Switzerland from May 23 through June 9.