Jakarta – Indonesian Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Secretary General Bayu Wardana says that they have recorded that as of today, Wednesday March 26, at least 18 journalists have fallen victim to violence while covering the wave of protests rejecting the ratification of revisions to the TNI Law.
Wardana explained that the forms of violence experienced by the journalists were diverse. In one case it was sexual violence.
"We have recorded that there has been violence experienced during demonstrations, and up until now there have been 18 journalists and student press journalists who have experienced violence", said Wardana during an online press conference on Wednesday March 26.
"Whether it was being beaten, whether it was being dragged, whether it was even some verbal sexual (violence) during the coverage", he continued.
Wardana said that the 18 journalists became victims of violence while covering actions in Jakarta, Sukabumi, Bandung, Surabaya and Malang
Furthermore, Wardana explained that the most prominent case of violence against journalists during the rejection of the Draft Law on the TNI (RUU TNI) was the sending of a pig's head and six rat carcasses to the Tempo media office in Jakarta.
"So, there were 18 journalists who experienced [violence] in several cities, we're still gathering [information] in several other cities", said Wardana.
Bayu revealed that some of the violence experienced by the journalists has been reported to the local police so it can be investigated. Although he is pessimistic, they hope that the police can investigate the cases of violence against the journalists thoroughly.
"Meaning that the police should not take things too lightly in these 18 cases or these 18 journalists. We urge the government to be firmer, especially the police, not to take things too lightly", he said.
Meanwhile, the Freedom of Association Coalition, which consists of several civil society organisations, has also condemned the alleged violence experienced by journalists covering the TNI Law demonstrations. They also condemned the alleged violence and repression by the authorities against the demonstrators.
"Digital violence has also increased against activists and journalists who criticised the revisions to the TNI Law. Safenet [Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network] has noted an increase in doxing, hacking and threats of criminalisation and online expression against those who are vocal in this opposition movement", the coalition said in a press release received on Wednesday evening.
They also condemned the alleged misinformation operation carried out by TNI social media accounts from the central to regional level, one of which was labelling human rights defenders who reject the revisions to the TNI Law as "foreign lackeys".
"At least 59,946 people were doxed during this information operation on Instagram between March 18-21, 2025", the Coalition said.
The Coalition for Freedom Of Association consists of a number of civil society organisations including the Centre for Legal and Policy Studies (PSHK), the Institute for Public Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and its network of Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) offices, Amnesty International Indonesia (AII), the Indonesian Network and Women's Solidarity.
The Coalition also conveyed a number of demands to the government, the House of Representatives (DPR) and the security apparatus.
"The government must guarantee protection for journalists, activists and human rights defenders from all forms of threats, both physical and digital, carried out by state and non-state actors", read one of the points in the Coalition's demands. (mab/kid/gil)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "AJI: 18 Jurnalis Jadi Korban Kekerasan Saat Meliput Demo Tolak UU TNI".]
