KKJ Condemns Terrors Following IndonesiaLeaks Investigative Report

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Journalist Safety Committee (KKJ) strongly condemns the acts of terror and string of threats against journalists and media outlets joined in the independent whistleblower platform IndonesiaLeaks. 

“The committee condemns any form of terror against journalists and media that are exercising its journalistic work,” said AJI Indonesia head of advocacy, Moh. RIdwan Lapasere in his statement on June 8.

The whistleblower platform had recently published an investigative report on the controversial civic knowledge test (TWK) which is a requirement for Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) employees to progress as state apparatus (ASN). 

The report revealed many oddities in the test suspecting that the 75 KPK employees who failed the test that had questionable parameters were by design and especially made to ‘set aside’ employees who do not align with the views of the current KPK leader. 

In this investigative report, KPK chair Firli Bahuri allegedly had a major influence in the pushing for certain aspects to be included in the TWK before it was filed to the Law and Human Rights Ministry as a Law.  

AJI or the Alliance for Independent Journalists explained that the threats that the IndonesiaLeaks team experienced range from being followed by unidentified people during an interview with a source at a cafe in Central Jakarta on May 31 and suspicious people following IndonesiaLeaks journalists and sources at the Tempo headquarters on Friday, May 28.

There were also attempts to hack the IndonesiaLeaks website on May 28 and erase a Twitter thread belonging to IndonesiaLeaks on June 6. There were also highly suspicious attempts to takeover the Instagram account of Tempo.co on Monday, June 7.

The investigative report coordinators from various media outlets had also received suspicious Whatsapp messages from unknown people on the eve of the investigative report being published on Sunday, June 6. 

The Instagram account of film production WatchDoc Documentary was also hacked on Sunday, June 6, following the release of its latest documentary “KPK End Game” which features KPK employees who failed the civic knowledge test. The WatchDOc account changed names and had zero posts in its feed. 

Ridwan argues that the aforementioned terrors and threats against journalists and media are a form of violence against journalists conducting their work protected under Law No.40/1999 on press. 

“The committee states that any form of protests against news coverage must be done under a mechanism that is stated in the Law, through the right of reply, the right for correction, or filing a complaint at the Press Council,” said Ridwan.

Read: Komnas HAM Urges Police to Investigate Persecution of Tempo Journalist

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