ID Nugroho ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 09/29/2009 10:42 AM  |  People

The press is said to be the fourth pillar of democracy, which is why Hendrayana and others are working hard to protect press freedom.

Press freedom in Indonesia is under threat and being challenged in a variety of forms, says Hendrayana, executive director of the Legal Aid Center for the Press (LBH Press).

“Although we often feel overwhelmed by the high volume of cases we have to face, and although the center has many limitations, we choose to hold on,” says the friendly young man, widely known as Hendra.

The 32-year-old got started in human rights when he joined the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) under its founder, the late Munir Said Thalib, in 2000, with the intention of building his knowledge of ways to implement the law.

The experience brought him much more than that.

“I learned many things from Kontras and the late Munir, but most important were the cases of human rights,” he says.

And, of course, among the recognized fundamental human rights are the right to access information and the right to freedom of expression,

Hendra, who graduated in law from Jenderal Sudirman University in Jakarta, is something of a newcomer to the Indonesia legal world. He does not yet have the same kind of profile of some of the well-known lawyers he rubs shoulders with, such as Adnan Buyung Nasution, Hotma Sitompul, Juan Felix Tampubolon, Todung Mulya Lubis and Hendardi.

His job isn’t easy either, given the tough working environment that is the Indonesian system.

“LBH Press has a commitment to protect the press from legal restrictions as well as overseeing the freedom of expression in Indonesia,” he says.

Hendra, who also worked at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the Independent Journalists’ Alliance (AJI) in Indonesia, became immersed in media law in 2003, when he left Kontras to become one of the founders of LBH Press. The decision to set up the body was triggered by the news of the day.

“The Committee to Uphold Press Freedom was established when the case of Tempo magazine versus Tommy Winata took place in 2003 and crystallized to become LBH Press,” he says.

And so, in Tugu Proklamasi, Jakarta, on July 11, 2003, LBH Press was established.

The very first case they took on was a tough one. In that case, the defendant, Tempo magazine, drew attention to a situation when police stood by doing nothing as Tempo editorial staff were attacked by a group of people protesting against an article that the magazine published, called “Tommy in Tenabang”.

In that case, Hendra and his colleagues claimed that the police deliberately ignored the situation even though they knew the Tempo staff were being assaulted.

Taking on the police in the courts was never going to be an easy task. After months and a final appeal to the Supreme Court, Tempo magazine was acquitted by the Supreme Court.

They then asked the former head of the National Police Dai Bachtiar to issue a formal apology on behalf of the people involved in the case.

“That legal request still hasn’t been met, but at least the long struggles undertaken by LBH Press and Tempo weren’t in vain,” Hendra says.

In their second case, between Warta Kota photographer Edy Hariyadi and the DKI Jakarta governor, LBH Press was again successful.

LBH Press, now funded by the OSI Foundation and the TIFA Foundation, gets overwhelmed by requests to assist in press cases. LBH Press records show more than 200 cases have been handled by the center, which has an office in the Bier Pancoran Complex.

From 2008 to 2009, 44 media-related cases were running in the courts, dealing with criminal law, civil law and labor law. Among the prominent cases the center has handled was a claim by the Asian Agri Company against Tempo magazine over a story titled “The Tax Acrobat”.

Another case was that of Khoe Seng Seng and readers’ comments in Kompas and Suara Pembaruan versus the Duta Pertiwi Company, and Jupriadi Asmaradhana versus the former head of the Southwest Sulawesi Regional Police Irjen Sisno Adiwinoto.

But despite the wins, the LBH Press has not been successful every time. For example, claims against Tempo magazine by the Youth Organization (PPM) were upheld.

There was also the case of Tempo newspaper against Munarman; the cases of Transparan newspaper (Palembang) versus the Banyuasin Regency head; Legal Standing AJI versus the head of the National Police Dai Bachtiar; and the civil case of Khoe Seng-seng versus the Duta Pertiwi Company.

“All these cases were about press freedom and freedom of expression, which some parties are trying to erode,” Hendra says.

Because of the significance of these cases, LBH Press often joins with other institutions that are also concerned with the issues of press freedom and freedom of expression.

 “We’re a little relieved, but also have to be watchful because many things threaten the free press,” Hendra says.

He points out three things that have created obstacles for the creation of a free press: the Intelligence Law, the Internet Law and the Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law, along with the punishment of imprisonment in cases of legal defamation.

LBH Press, together with a coalition of NGOs, has tried to block the three regulations. With the ITE Law, for example, attempts were made to introduce changes via judicial review through the Supreme Court.

There are also two other regulations that they want blocked, and Hendra knows it won’t be easy getting what they want.

“It’s likely that there are other parties that do not like a free press and keep trying to introduce new regulations,” he says.