Reza Gunadha and Chyntia Sami Bhayangkara – Journalist and editor of the Papuan based Tabloid Jubi, Victor Mambor, has become the victim of a terrorist act.
A car that he owns which was parked on the road near his home was vandalised by unknown individuals sometime between 12 midnight and 2am on Wednesday April 21.
The windscreen of Mambor's Isuzu Double Cabin DMax was smashed by a blunt object. The rear and left-side windows were also damaged by a sharp instrument.
In addition to this, the left-side front and back doors were spray painted with orange paint.
Jayapura Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Chairperson Lucky Ireeuw suspects that the terror was committed in relation to reporting by Tabloid Jubi which a certain party disliked.
Tabloid Jubi and its website are known for consistently presenting the public with reports on human rights violations in Papua.
"This act of terror and intimidation is clearly a form of violence against journalists and threatens press freedom in Papua and more broadly in Indonesia. It is strongly suspected that the terror suffered by Victor is related to reporting by Tabloid Jubi which a certain party dislikes", said Ireeuw in a press release on Thursday April 22.
Prior to the vandalism of his car, Mambor has suffered as series of attacks.
"Digital attacks. Doxing, and disseminating a flyer on social media the content of which painted Tabloid Jubi and Victor Mambor in a bad light, playing people off against each other and accusations to criminalise the media and Victor personally", he said.
The incident has already been reported to the authorities and Ireeuw is calling on the police to immediately investigate the case and arrest the perpetrators.
Ireeuw slammed the attack against Mambor and Tabloid Jubi and is urging whoever committed it to stop such actions immediately.
"We appeal to all parties to respect the work of journalists and respect press freedom in the land of Papua", he said accusingly.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Victor Mambor, Jurnalis Tabloid Jubi Papua Jadi Korban Aksi Teror".]
