T

he Association of Journalists for Diversity (Sejuk) has denounced the alleged violence committed against tirto.id journalist Reja Hidayat by a member of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

In a statement made available on Thursday, the association said it received a report that Reja had been hit and told to leave by an FPI member on Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. when he was in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, near FPI headquarters.

In the chronology outlined by Reja, the journalist wrote in his report circulating in several journalists’ chat groups that the perpetrator tried to prohibit him from reporting on an FPI meeting ahead of a planned rally and demanded he delete everything he had already written. Allegedly, he also said he did not trust the media. The association said the alleged assault violated press freedom guaranteed to members of the media in the 1999 Press Law.

Two other journalists, one from Gatra magazine and another from the Jawa Pos News Network, were also forced away and told they were not allowed to write news about the preparations for a Dec. 2 rally, which is being undertaken by, among others, the FPI, the association also claimed.

During a previous rally on Nov. 4, journalists from Metro TV, Kompas TV and Berita Satu, reportedly received threats.