On 24 March 2023, environmental activist and human rights defender, Heri Budiawan alias Budi Pego, was arrested and subsequently detained in Indonesia. Budi Pego, who has been outspoken about PT Merdeka Copper Gold's mining activities in Tumpang Pitu, was sentenced to 4 years in prison. The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), which once issued a protection letter for Budi Pego in 2018 as a human rights defender, regretted this Supreme Court decision, stating that the case against Budi Pego was criminalisation.

In April 2017, residents of Sumberagung (Banyuwang, East Java province, Indonesia) peacefully demonstrated in protest against the opening of a new gold mine on Mount Salakan. Pego joined these residents in making protest signs. Later that afternoon, two members of the armed forced told him that they had been informed that one of the banners used in the protest included a hammer and sickle, symbols of communism. In September 2017, the Banyuwangi prosecutor's office ordered his arrest for allegedly displaying a communist badge for the purpose of "spreading communist ideology." Pego was released from prison in July 2018. Almost five years later, on 24 March 2023, the activist was arrested again supposedly through a Supreme Court sentence in 2018. Less than a week earlier, on March 16, a mining company team operating in the area carried out geological mapping work on Mount Salakan, escorted by local police, army and law enforcement. The prosecution denied that the arrest had anything to do with the company's activities.