French Journalists' Papua Jail Terms Spark Calls for Reform
Two French journalists were Friday handed short jail terms for illegally reporting in Papua, sparking calls for the new Indonesian government to lift long-standing restrictions on foreigners covering the restive province.
Thomas Dandois, 40, and Valentine Bourrat, 29, were each given a two and a half month jail term, but will walk free on Monday after having already served the time in custody awaiting trial.
They expressed relief, with Dandois telling reporters: "I want to return to Paris as soon as possible in see my family."
The pair were detained at the start of August while making a documentary for Franco-German television channel Arte about the separatist movement in eastern Papua.
Indonesia is deeply sensitive about journalists covering Papua, where a low-level insurgency against the central government has simmered for decades, and rarely grants visas for foreigners to report independently in the region.
Indonesia's Independent Alliance of Journalists said it was the first time that foreign journalists have been tried for immigration violations in Papua, while rights groups called for new Indonesian President Joko Widodo to drop curbs on reporting there.
"The Jokowi administration should... lift restrictions for independent journalists to visit Papua," said Andreas Harsono, a Jakarta-based researcher for Human Rights Watch, using the new president's nickname.
Widodo, the country's first leader from outside the political and military elite, was sworn in Monday, with many hoping for a fresh new style of government in the world's third-biggest democracy.
Dandois's brother Marc echoed the sentiment, telling reporters at the court it was important "for journalists all over the world to be able to do their jobs freely without any obstacles".
"I am proud of Thomas."
- 'Criminalising journalism' -
In the past, foreign journalists caught reporting illegally from Papua have been quickly deported.
But Dandois and Bourrat's case went to trial, and the pair were charged with breaking immigration laws since they had tourist, not journalist visas.
The pair could have faced up to five years in jail but in the end prosecutors recommended a much shorter sentence, saying they had admitted their mistake.
Handing down the verdict Friday, chief judge Martinus Bala told the court in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province, that the journalists had "been proven legitimately and convincingly guilty of the crime of conducting activities that are not in line with the permit given to them".
He also ordered them to pay a two million rupiah ($170) fine each or spend an extra month in jail. Their lawyer Aristo Pangaribuan said the pair did not plan to appeal.
While welcoming the short sentence, he warned: "From a legal perspective, this is not very good because it opens the door for the criminalisation of journalistic activities."
Foreign journalists can apply for visas to report from Papua, but in reality they are rarely granted. Under the current system, 18 different government agencies have to give their approval, Harsono said.
Dandois was detained at a hotel in the city of Wamena with members of separatist group the Free Papua Movement (OPM), and Bourrat was detained shortly afterwards, according to authorities.
The OPM has been at the forefront of the fight against the central government in the resource-rich but poor and ethnically Melanesian region.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/152526 |