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BFF-25
INDONESIA-PRESS-CRIME
Two activist journalists stabbed to death in Indonesia
MEDAN, Indonesia, Nov 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Two Indonesian journalists
mediating a land dispute between a palm oil company and residents have been
found dead with multiple stab wounds near a plantation in Sumatra, police
said.
The body of Maraden Sianipar was found Wednesday in a ditch near a palm
plantation in Labuhan Batu district, an eight-hour drive from the capital of
North Sumatra province.
Police found the remains of Maratua Siregar in the same area a day later.
Both bodies were covered in stab wounds.
Six people have been questioned but no suspect named, local police chief
Agus Darojat told AFP.
The pair worked together for a local news portal before going freelance in
2017.
A friend of Siregar said the victims had recently become known for their
activism in land dispute issues.
Prior to their deaths, Siregar and Sianipar were working on a campaign to
convince the government to allow locals to work on disputed land.
Indonesian journalists associations condemned the deaths and demanded
authorities investigate thoroughly.
Many cases of violence against journalists in Indonesia go unsolved,
according to the Independent Journalists Alliance, which has reported at
least two dozen cases this year alone.
Indonesia is ranked 124th out of 180 countries on the 2019 World Press
Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1606 hrs