APSN | Pekanbaru police under fire for beating journalist

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Pekanbaru police under fire for beating journalist

Jakarta Globe - December 6, 2015

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Pekanbaru – Police in Pekanbaru, Riau, have come under fire for clashing with university students and beating a journalist at a congress for the Islamic Students Association.

The meeting, held at the Pekanbaru Youth Center on Saturday, took a violent turn when officers allegedly dragged a student out of the building for causing a disturbance and proceeded to beat the young man.

The scene was promptly photographed and filmed by Riau Online reporter Zuhdi Febrianto, according to witnesses, at which point the officers' attentions shifted.

"They [the police] tried to confiscate Zuhdi's camera and cellphone, demanding that he delete all the footage," said Ratna Sari Dewi, another journalist who was covering the congress.

She added that Zuhdi had attempted to show his press card, which the officers ignored and began to beat him until he lost consciousness. Fellow journalists then transported him to the hospital for medical treatment.

Satria Utama Batubara, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Journalist Association's (PWI) Riau chapter, called the incident "a crime." Riau Online editor in chief Fakhrurrodzi, meanwhile, threatened to take legal action.

The incident came two weeks after participants of the 29th Islamic Students Association (HMI) congress were involved in scuffles with security officials, claiming they were not fed or given a place to spend the night by organizers – despite the Rp 7 billion ($505,739) budget for the bash.

The protesters had to be disbursed by force after they blockaded streets leading to the congress venue.

Attacks on journalists are not uncommon in Indonesia, where law enforcement officers have long used their position as licence to intimidate and suppress free speech.

Last week Jakarta Police attacked two reporters for refusing to hand over footage of officers firing tear gas into a crowd calling for autonomous governance in Papua.

In November, three television journalists covering the murder of anti-mining activist Salim Kancil in East Java's Selok Awar Awar Village received death threats via short messages service (SMS) sent by a pro-mining group.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/pekanbaru-police-fire-beating-journalist/.