TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tempo.co editor in chief, Setri Yasra, on Wednesday, April 14, fulfilled East Java police summons in Surabaya to be questioned about the case where a Tempo journalist, Nurhadi, became a victim of physical abuse as he was working to report a news.

The editor in chief was questioned by the police for seven hours from 13:00 to 20:00.

Setri said police investigators dug into a plethora of information about Nurhadi - who endured physical abuse as the journalist was attempting to obtain confirmation from a subject of a news report. Police asked about Nurhadi’s decision to enter a private wedding reception uninvited. The reception was for a wedding of the child of former Finance Ministry’s taxation director general, Angin Prayitno Aji.

The editor in chief defended Nurhadi's actions by citing the Law on Press which requires journalists to work under the code of ethics which covers how journalists must cover both sides.

“Nurhadi was doing just that, providing a chance for Angin Prayitno to clarify about the KPK suspect status due to an allegation. But Nurhadi was abused and there were censors to his equipment [to cover the story],” said Setri Yasra.

He explained that confirmation from a news subject must be dwelled and obtained. Tempo Magazine had tried to fulfill the rights of the news source and tried to give fair coverage from Angin Prayitno’s side.

“Nurhadi was doing just that and journalists must be fair and thinking without bias,” he added.

As to questions why Nurhadi attended an event that is considered a private space for the news source, he asserted that the journalist only wanted to obtain confirmation from the former government official and that the wedding itself was not of Tempo’s interest.

“The wedding was not interesting to us and is not worthy of being written in Tempo Magazine. So there is no issue about privacy here,” said the Tempo.co editor in chief.

Read: Tempo Magazine's Chief Editor Condemns Persecution of Journalist in Surabaya

TEMPO.CO | KUKUH S. WIBOWO