"Journalists in Indonesia are facing increasing acts of violence," chairman of AJI Nezar Patria said here Sunday.
Data of the Press Council showed that there had been 66 cases of violence submitted to the council in 2010, Nezar said.
The cases included an attack on media offices, expulsion and coverage restriction, threats of terror against journalists, vandalism, and even murder.
According to AJI, few of the cases had been thoroughly investigated, and others remained unsolved, such as the murder of Adriansyah Qomar Wibisono, a journalist of Pelangi weekly of Maluku.
Moreover, the Papuan authorities failed to find a suspect who stabbed Banjir Ambarita, a freelance journalist from Papua, Nezar said.
On the other hand, the Tual District Court on March 9 declared three Ridwan Salamun murder suspects not guilty. Ridwan was a contributor of Sun TV.
Impunity in cases of violence against journalists has been increasing, Nezar said, adding that it also indicated the lack of legal protection of journalists.
Meanwhile, female journalists are also prone to sexual harassment, Nezar said.
Some female journalists often assigned to the field mostly dominated by men to gather information and news, in which sexual harassment is likely to occur, Nezar said. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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