TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The election supervisory board (Bawaslu) regretted the persecution against journalist reporting the Munajat 212 agenda in Monas, Jakarta, on Thursday, Feb. 21. Bawaslu member Rahmat Bagja said that journalists are not supposed to be physically intimidated when they are reporting an event.

"There should be no threats, forces, intimidations, aimed to the journalists when they’re reporting a campaign or any other public events," said Bagja in Menteng, Jakarta, Feb. 23.

He said that the Munajat 212 event in Monas was a public event worth to get exposure from media. Bagja viewed the journalists conduct their task to give information the public should know. "It was a public event that was held at Monas. It’s strange when journalists were banned to report it, isn’t it?"

Read: Jokowi Camp will Report Munajat 212 Event to Bawaslu

A commotion occurred during the Munajat 212 event when a pickpocket was captured. The journalists who managed to record the chaos with their cellphones were forced to delete videos.

Independent Journalists Alliance (AJI) Jakarta chapter condemned the persecution act. AJI Jakarta head Asnil Bambani Amri viewed the measure taken by Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) troops of deleting videos or photos owned by the journalists was a crime. "They hampering the journalists’ job in providing information to the public,” he said in a written statement.

Meanwhile, Munajat 212 committee chief Idrus Al Habsyi admitted that he did not receive a report on the alleged persecution against journalists during the event.

Idrus said it was an unplanned incident and that he never ordered FPI troops, as the security team, to act rude against journalists reporting the Munajat 212 event.

SYAFIUL HADI | JULNIS FIRMANSYAH | ROSSENO AJI