Lia Hutasoit, Jakarta – A columnist on the detik.com news site with the initials YF was allegedly intimidated after writing an article titled "Generals in Civilian Positions: Where is the Merit of Civil Servants?". The article was published on Thursday morning, May 22, before being taken down for reasons of the author's safety.
"The editors deleted the opinion piece at the author's request, not on the recommendation of the Press Council. We apologize for this negligence. As for the issue of safety, this is based on the opinion writer's own account", read a statement on the detik.com website on Saturday May 24.
From the information received by IDN Times, YF experienced intimidation twice in one day. First, YF was sideswiped by two unidentified people after dropping off their child at school. A few hours later, YF was kicked while riding a motorbike by two people also riding a motorbike wearing full-face helmets.
YF said they no enemies or personal conflicts but felt scared after a friend reminded her of the background of the person she criticised in their article.
IDN Times has contacted detik.com's editor-in-chief Alfito Deannova Ginting. Ginting explained that detik.com only took down the article based on safety issues as stated by YF and there was no recommendation from the Press Council.
"Our statement is just a disclaimer", he told the IDN Times on Saturday.
Legal Aid Foundation for the Press (LBH Pers) Director Mustafa Layong has condemned the alleged intimidation experienced by the detik.com opinion writer with the initials YF. According to him, this happened only a few hours after the opinion piece was published.
"Yes, that's true. Based on the chronology conveyed by the victim, the incident occurred several hours after the opinion piece was published, at around 9 am and 12 noon local time. It happened twice", said Layong when sought for confirmed by IDN Times on Saturday.
Layong stressed that the safety of the victim must be the priority for all parties. The LBH Pers received a report from YF on Thursday, when the victim asked for help through the Press Council.
"We are communicating through the KKJ [Committee for Safety of Journalists] to provide support. Second, we condemn acts of terror that threaten people's freedom including through opinions in the media", Layong said.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Penulis Opini di Detik.com Diduga Mendapat Intimidasi".]