Walhi demands release of land rights activists charged with incitement

Rajawali Net – December 9, 2025
Christian Toibo pictured wearing orang detention jacked with Sandy from the Green Lawyers – Undated (Istimewa)

Adyaksa M, Poso – The detention of Kristian Toibo, a resident of Watutau Village in Lore Peore district, Poso regency, has sparked criticism from environmental activists.

The Central Sulawesi chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) believes that the authorities are criminalising residents who defend their land rights.

Toibo was named a suspect after a peaceful demonstration by Watutau Village residents on July 31, 2024. The police declared Toibo a suspect through letter S.TAP/20/VII/RES.1.10/2025/Reskrim dated July 14, 2025, then handed the case files over to the Poso District Prosecutor's office that immediately detained him.

Central Sulawesi Walhi campaigner Wandi said the process was full of irregularities and ridden with political pressure.

"This is a transfer of the case from Polres (the district police] to the Poso District Prosecutor's Office for him to be temporarily detained. But for us, Pak [Mr] Kristian has not been proven to be the person who provoked things", said Wandi on Tuesday December 9.

According to Wandi, the application of Article 160 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) does not have a strong basis given the evidence. "Pak Kristian should still be able to carry out his activities because the court process has not yet started and there is no proof that he's guilty", he asserted.

Walhi together with the Pekurehua Watch Coalition and the Green Lawyers team are pursuing legal measures to fight the detention. They have sent an official letter to the Poso District Prosecutor's Office so that Toibo is not detained during the ongoing legal proceedings.

"We have already written to the prosecutor's office asking that Pak Kristian not be detained. We will continue to attend and monitor the trial to fight the Land Bank's claim", said Wandi.

This conflict started with a claim by the Land Bank on former PT Hasfarm right to cultivate (HGU) land. Residents believe that the claim encroaches on land they have managed for decades for agriculture and plantations.

Residents also highlighted the granting of land management rights (HPL) by the Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning Ministry/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN) which they considered to have been carried out without public consultation and without direct checks in the field.

For Walhi, the Watutau case is a reflection of the wider agrarian conflict. "When the ordinary people defend their land, they are in fact criminalised. The state should protect its citizens, not facilitate the seizure of living space", concluded Wandi.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Kristian Toibo Ditahan, WALHI Sulteng Desak Pembebasan".]

Source: https://www.rajawalinet.co/kristian-toibo-ditahan-walhi-sulteng-desak-pembebasan/