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Groups condemn arrest of US journalist
The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) are denouncing the arrest of American environmental journalist Philip Jacobson, who has been detained in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, for allegedly violating visa restrictions
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span>The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) are denouncing the arrest of American environmental journalist Philip Jacobson, who has been detained in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, for allegedly violating visa restrictions.
Jacobson, who works for environmental science and conservation news portal Mongabay, had been detained since Tuesday. According to a letter from immigration officials, he was arrested under Article 122 of the 2011 Immigration Law because of misuse of his residency permit. Jacobson could be subjected to a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rp 500 million (US$36,556) if convicted of the charges.
“Arresting a journalist under an administration excuse is over the top,” said AJI chairman Abdul Manan on Wednesday.
On Dec. 16, 2019, Jacobson attended a hearing between the Central Kalimantan Legislative Council and the local chapter of the AMAN.
“[On Dec. 17, 2019,] Jacobson was scheduled on a flight out of Palangkaraya, but before he could leave for the airport, immigration officers went to his guesthouse and confiscated his passport,” Mongabay said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the immigration officers then asked Jacobson to remain in the city while they continued their investigation. “On Jan. 21, more than a month later, Jacobson was formally arrested and taken into custody.”
Although the immigration office stated that Jacobson was arrested because of visa problems, Manan said he believed that his arrest had something to do with his journalistic activities, since Jacobson planned to write a story on an agrarian dispute between a local indigenous community and a corporation.
“The immigration authority’s action could give a bad signal concerning Indonesia’s image abroad for treating a journalist harshly under an administrative excuse,” Manan said.
Similar to AJI, AMAN also criticized the authority for arresting Jacobson. “Philip Jacobson’s detention, when the former was performing his duties as a journalist, is a serious threat against press freedom, democracy and human rights,” said AMAN secretary-general Rukka Sombolinggi in a written statement on Wednesday.
Walhi said even though the stated reason for Jacobson’s arrest was administrative, they also believed it had something to do with his journalism work.
A Human Rights Watch researcher, Andreas Harsono, urged the Palangkaraya Immigration Office to immediately release Jacobson. “Journalism is not a crime. What happened was just an administrative matter regarding a visa,” said Andreas on Wednesday.
Jacobson is one of the reporters who worked on a collaborative journalistic work titled “The secret deal to destroy paradise: The story behind the single biggest threat to the rainforests of Indonesia”, which was published in 2018.
