B

ernas journalist Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, commonly known as Udin, died in 1996 after sustaining severe injuries after being brutally beaten by unidentified persons who were allegedly angered by his report on a high-profile corruption case in Bantul, Yogyakarta.

More than two decades later, and long after the downfall of Soeharto in 1998, Udin’s case remains unsolved, highlighting the persistent culture of impunity that has placed the country’s journalists in a vulnerable state.

As the world commemorates International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, which falls on Nov. 2, the Indonesian government has once again been reminded of its obligation to end violence against journalists and to further ensure their protection.

“The government cannot turn a blind-eye to cases of violence against journalists because violations of press freedom also threaten the rights of the public to obtain information,” Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) head of advocacy Iman D. Nugroho told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Iman said media activists had repeatedly made efforts to demand the police continue investigations into such cases. However, it remains unknown whether such cases will be reopened again.

Other unresolved murder cases include that of Naimullah of Sinar Pagi in 1997, Agus Mulyawan of Asia Press in 1999, Muhammad Jamaluddin of TVRI in 200, Ersa Siregar of RCTI in 2003, Herliyanto of Delta Pos in 2006, Adriansyah Matra’is Wibisono from a Papuan television station in 2010 and Alfred Mirulewan of Pelangi in 2010.

Data from AJI also reveals that cases of violence against journalists increased to 78 incidents last year from 42 in 2015 and 40 in 2014. These included attacks by law enforcement personnel, but only a few perpetrators have been brought to justice.

Should the perpetrators be brought to court rarely were they charged under Article 18 of the 1999 Press Law — which stipulates that sanctions be imposed on those who prevent journalists from doing their job — Iman said.

One such case was the three-month jail sentence handed down to airman Rommel Pandapaton Sihombing, who was found guilty of assaulting Tribun Medan journalist Array A. Argus while the latter was covering a violent eviction in Sari Rejo last year.

The prosecutors reportedly declined to charge Rommel under Article 18, drawing criticism from Array’s lawyer and media activists as the Air Force member had indeed violated the article, which carries a maximum punishment of two-years in prison.

“Resolving cases of violence against reporters without using the press law means that journalism, as a profession that is protected under [the specialized law], is neglected,” Iman said.

A similar incident occurred in Banyumas, Central Java, last month when a peaceful protest staged by students against the construction of a geothermal power plant on Mount Selamet turned violent and journalists, again, fell victim to the brutality of the state apparatus.

Metro TV reporter Darbe Tyas suffered injuries after allegedly being beaten by around 10 officers. The police allegedly also seized some of the journalists’ phones, cameras and motorcycles.

The Nov. 2 date was chosen by the UN in December 2013 in commemoration of two French journalists who were assassinated in Mali in the same year.

According to UNESCO’s latest data, at least 930 journalists worldwide were killed from 2006 to 2016, with 102 killings occurring in 2016 alone. In more than nine out of ten cases, the perpetrators have gone unpunished.

Among the figure, 93 percent of journalists killed in the last eleven years were local journalists reporting on local news, while the proportion of female journalists killed rose from five percent in 2006 to 10 percent in 2016, UNESCO said.

“We must ensure justice is done for every journalist killed […] it is vital to strengthen the rule of law and good governance,” UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova said in a statement released by the UN body.