Samsir is an environmental rights defender and co-chairperson of the Tani Nipah Group. The group works on the restoration and rehabilitation of the natural environment, by planting Rizophora and Nipah mangroves, and opening up water channels to better irrigate areas inhabited by the local communities. As an environmental rights defender, he has been actively involved in the preservation of the local environment and the fight against exploitation of the area. On 10 February 2021, environmental rights defenders Samsir and Syamsul Bahri were arrested by the Tanjung Pura Police for their alleged involvement in the physical assault of an individual on 18 December 2020. Samsir and Syamsul Bahri were released on 25 February 2021.

The palm oil company that the complainant is believed to be affiliated with owns 65 hectares of land in the region. It is suspected that the company also has illegal palm oil plantations in the area. The Tani Nipah group and environmental defenders believe that the case against the defenders has been fabricated as a form of intimidation for their environmental protection work, and that the intimidation is being directed by the company because of the group’s work in protecting the mangrove forest environment.

Samsir and Syamsul Bahri and the Tani Nipah group have been the target of threats and harassment in the past for their environmental protection work.