The Indonesian police and military should investigate the deadly arson attack against a journalist and three members of his family in Kabanjahe, a small town in North Sumatra, Human Rights Watch said today. While three men have been arrested, the authorities should also question other possible conspirators.
Rico Sempurna Pasaribu, 47, of the Medan-based Tribata TV, and his family were found dead inside their small wooden house in Kabanjahe on June 27, 2024. The dead included his wife, Elparida Ginting, 48, his daughter, Sudi Investi Pasaribu, 12, and a 3-year-old grandson Louin Arlando Situngkir, for whom the Pasaribus were babysitting that night. The eldest daughter, Eva Meliani Pasaribu, 22, whose young son died in the fire, is now campaigning for justice.
"Indonesian police should conduct a credible and timebound inquiry to identify everyone involved in the attack, including any military personnel," said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The military should cooperate with the police to ensure that any army officer involved in gambling and arson is properly prosecuted."
On June 22, Tribata TV published on its website Pasaribu's story, "Gambling Location on Captain Bom Ginting Street Turns Out to Belong to an Army Officer with the Rank of Corporal, Member of the 125th Battalion." The report included a picture of a house, allegedly the office of the illegal online gambling business, citing its proximity to the barracks of the Army 125th battalion in Kabanjahe.
While the story did not have a byline, Pasaribu posted a link on his Facebook page, stating that the gambling was controlled by an army officer he named.
After the report was published, the soldier allegedly threatened Pasaribu, according to the Medan-based Journalist Safety Committee, which published the first report on the arson attack. The soldier also asked Tribata TV's chief editor Edrin Adriansyah to take down the report, according to Adriansyah and the committee. Both declined to take down the report.
The Journalist Safety Committee is a coalition of organizations, including the Alliance of Independent Journalists and the Medan Legal Aid Institute. Medan is the capital of North Sumatra province. Pasaribu had reported that the soldier had threatened him, according to some of his journalist colleagues, and, the committee said, had decided to stay away from his house for a few days fearing an attack.
Bayu Wardhana, secretary-general of the Alliance of Independent Journalists, said they feared a cover-up. "The case requires special attention due to suspicions of military involvement," he said. "Rico had reported on online gambling activities allegedly backed by military members shortly before his death."
An army spokesperson said that the authorities had questioned the soldier named in the report but found that he was not involved in gambling. The Indonesian military has a long history of protecting its soldiers from prosecution for human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said.
Gambling is a rampant social problem in Kabanjahe, the capital of the Karo regency. On June 26, several religious organizations staged a protest outside the 125th battalion headquarters, demanding that they stop the gambling business.
Pasaribu came out of hiding to cover the protest, publishing the story on Tribata TV's website. He also posted some photos on his Facebook page. He then returned to his house.
The attack occurred at 3:40 a.m. on June 27, based on CCTV footage. The North Sumatra police have arrested three suspects: Yunus Saputra Tarigan, also known as Selewang, Rudi Apri Sembiring, and Bebas Ginting. The wooden house was part of a shop where Pasaribu's wife sold snacks, cigarettes, and kerosene, and it burned rapidly, the police and the committee stated.
The police said that they had questioned 28 witnesses. Ginting, 62, one of those arrested, is the former head of the Angkatan Muda Pembaharuan Indonesia (AMPI), a youth organization linked to the Golkar Party, one of the largest political parties in Indonesia, which had official ties to the Indonesian military during President Soeharto's three decades in power.
Indonesian authorities have failed to arrest suspects in killings of journalists over the last three decades, including the 1996 murder of Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, who had published several news reports on corruption in the Bantul regency in the months before his death.
In 1999, Sander Thoenes, a Dutch journalist who worked for the Financial Times, was killed in Becora, outside Dili, East Timor, by Indonesian soldiers of the Army's Battalion 745. The case was eventually dropped after Major Jacob Djoko Sarosa, the battalion commander, who was indicted by an Indonesian human rights committee over the killing, never responded to a summons.
"The grotesque killing of Sempurna Pasaribu and his family should serve as warning to Indonesian authorities that political protection emboldens criminals, including to punish journalists and whistleblowers," Ganguly said. "Soldiers who engage in corruption, extortion, threats, or killings should know that they have no place in the army, and instead belong in jail."
