Tunggadewa Mattangkilang, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan – A television reporter in East Kalimantan says she suffered a miscarriage after being beaten by a village chief and more than a dozen other men while covering a land dispute on Saturday.
Normila Sari Wahyuni, 23, a reporter from Paser TV, which airs locally in the district of Paser, was interviewing one victim of a bitter land dispute in Rantau Panjang village when she was allegedly stopped by a number of men, including the village chief, Ilyas. She said the men tried to confiscate her camera before attacking her.
Normila, who was on Sunday seeking treatment at Panglima Sebaya Hospital in the town of Tanah Grogot, said she was beaten, had her clothes ripped off and her camera taken from her.
"I was dragged across the road like an animal after my coverage. My shirt and trousers were ripped apart. I was one month pregnant and I had a miscarriage after my body, including my stomach, was kicked by thugs and village officials. They treated me inhumanely," she told the Jakarta Globe in a telephone interview on Sunday.
"I had told them that I am a reporter and showed my press ID... but still they beat me."
Normila said she was beaten to the ground and had her camera taken from her. She said the men threw the camera into a nearby pond and left her there. "There was a local who happened to pass the road and took me to the hospital," she said.
Paser district police chief Ismajuddin said the reporter had filed a complaint against the village chief, the only attacker she recognized, for aggravated assault.
"We will summon a number of witnesses, including the village chief who participated in the assault. We will investigate the case as swiftly as possible," he said.
Nurdin, chairman of the Paser chapter of the Association of Indonesian Journalists (PWI), condemned the attack, saying that the perpetrators must also be charged with violating the Law on the Press.
The law stipulates that anyone trying to stop or threatening to stop journalists from doing their work could face up to two years in prison.
"This is an inhumane act. Violence against reporters is rampant because people don't understand the importance of a journalist's work. Therefore, we demand police to also charge the attackers with the 1999 Press Law," Nurdin said.