As Fatia and Haris said in their orations outside the East Jakarta District Court on Jan. 8, their exoneration should rekindle the struggle for democracy and encourage everyone to stand up for their rights to life and livelihood, to fight injustice and to convey their thoughts and criticize the powerful.

Luhut had sued them for allegedly spreading misinformation and defamation as he had taken offense, among others by being called “lord” on Haris’ YouTube channel. The judges ruled the defendants had not done anything wrong; they were discussing a study on extractive mining firms in Papua, with shares and ownership traced to political elites. The defense’s lawyers argued that their clients had not attacked Luhut in his personal capacity, but were highlighting his responsibilities as a public official.

The report titled “The Political Economy of Military Deployment in Papua: The Case of Intan Jaya [regency]” by Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and eight other NGOs, had investigated suspected conflicts of interest involving political elites in their Papua-based businesses and military operations said to safeguard residents from “armed criminal groups”, but which researchers said have led to forced evacuations of terrified villagers and extra judicial killings including that of the pastor Yeremia Zanambani in Intan Jaya in September 2020. Villagers have faced hardships for months, even years, as they fled into Papua’s forests with their children.

The upside of Luhut’s case since he reported the activists to the police in September 2021 has been wider interest in the research findings. It is too expensive and too risky for budget-wary media outlets to investigate issues in Papua themselves, even before COVID-19 further ravaged newsrooms. Luhut’s loss in court confirmed the truth of at least part of the findings, to the relief of Papuans, dozens of whom attended the final hearing and celebrated the outcome.

They know that Haris and Fatia’s verdict does not mean better freedom of speech. Papuans always face the threat of being arrested, said Yunita Penggu of the Papuan Students’ Alliance (AMP), outside the courthouse.

Worse than defamation, many have been charged with sedition after merely criticizing the government. One Papuan took advantage of the day, shouting “Free West Papua” atop a makeshift stage on a vehicle, amid scores of police officers and banners and posters blaring “Papua is not an empty land”, “Pull the military out of Papua” and “Revoke investment permits on Papuan land”.