The ministry's Director General of Law Enforcement, Rasio Ridho Sani, noted that the regulation, signed on August 30, stipulates that any individual fighting for the right to a good and healthy environment cannot be prosecuted criminally or sued civilly.
"The goal is to guarantee protection for environmental activists, enhance public participation, and increase synergy between agencies to prevent environmental pollution and damage," Sani said during a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The regulation categorizes protected parties into individuals, groups, academicians or experts, customary communities, environmental organizations, and business entities.
These groups are protected from actions such as suppression of movement and participation, legal notices, criminal proceedings, and civil lawsuits.
He explained that parties seeking protection must submit a document to the ministry, which will then be verified by a team composed of officials from the ministry, relevant ministries and agencies, law enforcement institutions, regional governments, academicians, and other relevant parties.
Sani mentioned that the protection provided takes the form of a ministerial decree regarding actions against activists, which will be communicated to law enforcement officers.
Another form of protection includes legal assistance in response to legal notices and civil lawsuits.
On that occasion, he also emphasized that to improve the effectiveness of the protection, the ministry will coordinate with several authorities, including the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) and the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
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Translator: Prisca Triferna, Raka Adji
Editor: Anton Santoso
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