Hammam Izzuddin, Jakarta – Chairperson of the Law and Legislation Commission of the Press Council, Arif Zulkifli, stated that the terror against journalists disturbs the public's right to information. He condemned the terror of a package containing a pig's head and rat carcasses sent by unknown individuals to Tempo editorial office.
Arif, who is also the CEO of PT Tempo Inti Media Tbk, stated that journalists have a mandate from the public to report information about an event. "Therefore, terror against journalists reduces their ability to fulfill the public's rights," said Arif in a press conference held by the Independent Journalist Alliance (AJI) online, on Sunday, March 23, 2025.
Arif highlighted the numerous cases of violence against journalists that have occurred in recent years. According to him, the terror against Tempo is just one example of the many attempts to disrupt journalistic work.
"So I imagine, if Tempo is afraid, then that fear can also spread to other media," he said.
Arif urged the Indonesian National Police to thoroughly investigate this case. He does not want this case to disappear without clarity on who is behind the terror.
As is known, Tempo received a second package consisting of a box containing severed rat carcasses. Tempo's cleaning personnel found a cardboard box containing six rats on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at 08:00 am WIB (Western Indonesian Time).
Upon preliminary inspection by the building management, the package containing the rat carcasses was thrown by an unknown person at 02:11 am WIB from outside the fence of the Tempo editorial office complex on Jalan Palmerah Barat, South Jakarta.
Prior to this, on March 19, 2025, Tempo also received a package containing a pig's head without ears. The package was delivered by a courier wearing a delivery application attribute. The package was addressed to Francisca Christy Rosana, a political desk journalist and the host of the Bocor Alus Politik podcast.
On March 21, 2025, Tempo's Editor-in-Chief Setri Yasra went to the national police headquarters to report the pig's head package. The package has been handed over to the police as evidence.
The National Police headquarters have formed a team to investigate the perpetrators and their motives. Approximately 20 police officers visited Tempo and took the package containing six rat carcasses sent early Saturday morning.
– Egi Adyatma contributed to the writing of this article.