Diananta Putra Sumedi
Sources
Diananta Putra Sumedi, the editor of the local news website BanjarHits.id and correspondent for the investigative newspaper Tempo, was arrested on May 4, 2020 in response to a criminal complaint by the Indonesian palm oil giant, the Jhonlin Group, about an article he posted on BanjarHits.id and then on the collaborative news platform Kumparan on November 2019 about a dispute over land that a Jhonlin Group subsidiary allegedly took from three villages inhabited by members of the Dayak, an indigenous people in southern Borneo’s dense forests. Diananta Putra Sumedi was eventually sentenced on 10 August, 2020 to three and a half months in prison for inciting hatred and violating journalistic ethics. Reports Without Borders (RSF) regards his conviction as a disturbing act of intimidation that is all the more unacceptable because the Jhonlin Group’s complaint against him had already been referred to, and settled, by the Press Council. Indonesia authorities are reported to being using the law to prosecute individuals, including journalists and those who use social media or other online platforms for their writings or statements. The vague and overbroad legislation has reportedly often been used to arrest, prosecute and punish people for peacefully exercising their freedom of speech.