| Home > South-East Asia >> Indonesia | |
British filmmakers jailed in Indonesia over piracy documentary
Sydney Morning Herald - November 3, 2015
Rebecca Prosser and Neil Bonner have been detained since May 29, when they were arrested by the Indonesian navy in waters off the island of Belakang Padang while filming a re-enactment of pirates attacking an oil tanker in the Malacca Strait for the National Geographic-funded documentary.
The pair will be released within the next two days. A fine of 25 million Rupiah ($AUD2500) was waived because they had already served more time in jail than their sentence.
Prosser and Bonner were sentenced on Tuesday. The court in Batam heard that mitigating factors included the fact they were credible international journalists, had asked forgiveness and had the support of the UK Parliament and British Embassy. Their acts had not caused Indonesia any harm or loss at the time of arrest.
However an aggravating factor was that the act showed a disregard for respect between the two countries.
The prosecution had requested five months' jail plus a fine of 50 million rupiah (AUD$5000) or another month in prison for violating immigration law. The offence carries a maximum five year jail term.
"This sentence request is shock therapy for foreigners filming illegally in Indonesia without a permit," prosecutor Bani Ginting said outside court last month. "I hope this trial will be published in local, national and international media and in social media."
Indonesian Navy commander Rear Admiral Taufiqurrahman reportedly said the reenactment was not accurate and could tarnish the image of the Malacca Strait, near Singapore, as a crime-prone area.
Prosser and Bonner's legal team argued the case was an administrative matter rather than a criminal one. Their lawyer, Aristo M.A. Pangaribuan, said the two filmmakers had applied for a journalism visa and were only in Indonesia for preliminary research.
"Criminal codes are for a last resort only – they shouldn't have been enforced," he said. "They should have been fined and deported from the beginning."
Reporters without Borders spokesman Benjamin Ismail said in September that it was unacceptable for journalists to be deprived of their freedom and loved ones for months over a bureaucratic irregularity.
"They were just doing their jobs as investigative reporters in what is a hotspot for maritime piracy in south-east Asia," he said.
The court heard the Indonesian navy confiscated filming equipment, four machetes, two balaclavas, and two small boats.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said Indonesia had a history of using visa restrictions to obstruct journalists who sought to cover stories of international importance within its borders.
French journalists Thomas Dandois and Valentine Bourrat were last year sentenced to two months and 15 days imprisonment in an Indonesian jail for reporting in the West Papua province while on a tourist visa.
The two reporters were caught by police in the highlands capital of Wamena on August 5, 2014 while filming a documentary for Franco-German TV station Arte on the West Papuan separatist movement – a politically sensitive issue in Indonesia.
See also:
 |