Journalists rally against Ariel
Bagus BT Saragih, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Mon, June 14 2010, 4:19 PM
Dozens of journalists rallied Monday at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta, demanding that detectives investigate vocalist Nazril "Ariel" Irham for allegedly damaging a reporter's camera.
"Ariel's action was intolerable. Hampering journalist's work is a crime," said Dodo, a journalist, in a rally in connection with an incident last Friday involving Zikrullah Shuby, a contributor for Trans TV.
Zikrullah was among dozens of journalists circling Ariel and his girlfriend, TV presenter Luna Maya, when the two left the National Police detective directorate building.
Ariel and Luna just finished questioning in connection with the sex video scandal allegedly featuring them.
The two celebrities refused to comment but suddenly Ariel grabbed and pulled a camera belonging to Zikrullah which was very close to his face.
"My camera is now broken and cannot be used any more," Zikrullah said.
"Ariel has the right to be tight-lipped, but don't break journalists' equipment," he added.
National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Zainuri Lubis said the police would respond to the rally by asking detectives to investigate the case.
Lubis then seized Zikrullah's camera for evidence.
