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HK to RI: Reporter’s supporters scorn orders to deport her
Human rights activists have called on the Indonesian government to file a complaint with Hong Kong authorities against the deportation of Indonesian journalist and domestic worker Yuli Riswati after she reported on the city’s ongoing protests.
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Journalist and domestic worker Yuli Riswati was deported from Hong Kong on Monday after reporting on the ongoing Hong Kong protests. (AFP/Manan Vatsyayana)
Human rights activists have called on the Indonesian government to file a complaint with Hong Kong authorities against the deportation of Indonesian journalist and domestic worker Yuli Riswati after she reported on the city’s ongoing protests.
NGO Migrant Care Indonesia and human rights group Amnesty International Indonesia have criticized Hong Kong’s treatment of Yuli – who they described as an activist and a journalist – saying it was repressive and unusual.
Migrant Care director Anis Hidayah said the situation demonstrated the threat of restricted expression for Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong.
“The Indonesian government should certainly file a complaint with Hong Kong against the unfair treatment and provide Yuli with legal protection,” Anis said in a statement received by The Jakarta Post.
Amnesty International Indonesia director Usman Hamid called the Hong Kong authorities’ treatment of Yuli an “aggressive criminalization”.
“The action has violated the responsibility of the Hong Kong government as it is below the standard of international law on human rights,” Usman said.
Previously, AFP reported that Yuli had been detained for 28 days after failing to extend her visa. She was put on a flight to Surabaya, East Java, on Monday afternoon.
Yuli’s lawyer Chau Hang-tung said her client had received a new passport but had forgotten to renew her visa. Yuli attempted to apply for a renewal during her time in custody and her employers offered to endorse her.
Prior to her deportation, Yuli ─ who won a Taiwan Literature Award for Migrants last year for her writing ─ had been documenting the protests in Hong Kong on her Facebook page and on Indonesian news site Migran Pros.
Separately, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said Yuli had violated Hong Kong’s immigration policies by overstaying her visa, saying that the facts presented during her trial— before she was indicted for overstaying on Nov. 4 — had confirmed her wrongdoing.
The ministry's protection of Indonesian citizens and legal entities abroad director, Judha Nugraha, said his side did not want to speculate about whether Yuli’s deportation was connected to her activities as a journalist documenting protests in Hong Kong.
“We are not in a position to speculate or associate the facts presented during [Yuli’s] the trial,” Judha said as quoted by Antara.
“What we can confirm is that [Yuli] had indeed violated the law and she overstayed [her visa],” he went on, adding that the deportation was in accordance with laws in Hong Kong.
Judha added that the government, through the Indonesian Consulate in Hong Kong, had assisted Yuli throughout her case so as to ensure her rights were fulfilled. (dpk)
