Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan Files Police Report against Haris Azhar

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan filed a report to the Jakarta Metro Police against Haris Azhar, a director of legal and human rights foundation Lokataru, on Wednesday, September 22.

“[The report is under] the Information and Electronic Transactions or ITE Law against one of the videos uploaded to a YouTube channel belonging to HA that is considered [by Luhut] distributing defamation, fake news,” said Jakarta Metro Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Yusri Yunus on Wednesday, September 22.

Yusri explained the police had received the report and submitted it to the cybercrime sub-directorate at the police's special crime investigation unit. The reported party, he added, was suspected of having committed a criminal act as stipulated in Article 45 in conjunction with Article 27 of the ITE Law.

“We will follow up the report whether this will enter the investigation level and we will summon related parties for a complete clarification, including witnesses,” said Yusri.

Previously, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan stated that he would take legal action because Haris Azhar and KontraS Coordinator Fatia Maulida did not provide satisfactory answers to the two subpoenas that had been sent. The subpoenas were delivered due to a video on Haris Azhar’s YouTube channel regarding Luhut’s involvement in the mining business in Papua.

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M YUSUF MANURUNG