Jayapura – Journalists in Indonesia continue to face challenges in carrying out their journalistic duties. The Indonesian Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) has released its preliminary 2026 report, revealing some alarming facts.
Press freedom in Indonesia has been steadily declining throughout 2025 under the administration of President Prabowo Subianto. At a press conference on Wednesday January 14, AJI revealed that this fourth pillar of democracy is facing real pressure and threats, with 89 cases of violence against journalists recorded over the past year (2025).
This drastic decline occurred amidst the strengthening of "authoritarian statism" in Indonesia, marked by the consolidation of executive power, the closeness of political elites to media owners and the use of legal instruments and digital regulations to stifle civil liberties.
AJI Chairperson Nani Afrida stated that the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of violence is a major factor in the recurrence of incidents, as journalism continues to act as a social control and the last bastion of public sanity against the onslaught of disinformation.
Afrida mentioned various forms of violence against journalists, from the newsroom to the field.
"Starting from physical violence, digital attacks, intimidation by officials, to lawsuits. Aside from this, intervention and intimidation in the newsroom is increasing and tending to be normalised. Based on AJI's records, intervention from circles of power takes the form of demands for news items to be deleted, as well as pressure to refrain from reporting on certain issues", she explained.
During a press conference, AJI provided details on the 89 cases of violence that occurred in 2025, where physical violence accounted for 31 cases with 21 of them perpetrated by police officers. "These cases of violence primarily occurred during demonstrations", said Afrida.
The second most common form of violence was digital attacks, with 29 cases recorded. This was the highest number in the last 12 years. This figure represents a significant increase compared to 10 cases in 2024 and 13 cases in 2023.
These digital attacks included Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks against online media outlets, the freezing of social media accounts and new forms of cyberattacks such as fake orders targeting two media outlets in Batam and Tanjung Pinang. Aside from this, seven journalists were victims of individual digital attacks in 2025.
"Ranging from impersonation and doxing to hacking of journalists' WhatsApp accounts", explained Afrida.
In addition to this, AJI recorded 22 cases of terror and intimidation, including an incident involving the sending of a pig's head to the Tempo editorial office. This type of terrorism is considered a systematic effort to create a climate of fear among journalists.
The other types of attacks that occurred in 2025 included bans on reporting, destruction of work equipment, deletion of journalistic data, debilitating lawsuits and self-censorship practices due to external pressure.
The perpetrators of this violence were predominantly anonymous, with 29 cases, the majority of which involved digital attacks and terror. State officials, such as the police with 21 cases and the Indonesian Military (TNI) with six cases also played significant roles.
Aside from Jakarta, threats against journalists spread widely to various regions such as Sorong, Ambon, Kendari, Makassar, Lombok, Bali, Medan and Aceh. This fact confirms that the safety of journalist is a national issue.
"The worst escalation of violence occurred when journalists covered the wave of demonstrations in late August and early September 2025 protesting government policies. AJI recorded at least eight cases of violence. Journalists who recorded the brutality of the authorities were targeted", explained Afrida.
AJI, along with the Committee for the Safety of Journalists (KKJ) and the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers), continue to advocate on legal issues and violence. Examples include the Minister of Agriculture's lawsuit against Tempo and the repeated intimidation of journalists in Aceh by the TNI.
AJI Secretary General Bayu Wardhana highlighted the pattern of arrogance among uniformed officers.
"The arrogance of uniformed officers is a recurring pattern. The two cases of intimidation of journalists in Aceh, accompanied by the confiscation of work equipment and the deletion of video reports, demonstrate the abuse of power and a lack of understanding by officers regarding the Press Law. This is not simply a disciplinary violation, but a criminal act of obstructing journalistic work", said Wardhana.
He further highlighted the worrying trend at the end of 2025, namely the systematic attempt to restrict information related to coverage of natural disasters on the island of Sumatra.
"The pattern was clear, the intimidation of journalists covering international aid, the deletion of news stories from major media outlets, to the suspension of live broadcasts from disaster sites. This constitutes a multi-layered violation, ranging from violations of press freedom to the public's right to information", he said.
These actions are considered violations of Articles 8 and 18 of the Press Law and Article 28F of the 1945 Constitution, which endanger public safety by concealing the real situation.
The threat of layoffs (PHK) for journalists has also increased sharply. In 2025, 549 journalists reported being laid off, a significant increase from 373 in 2024.
This fact, along with the shrinking public space for criticism, has led to widespread self-censorship among journalists, activists, and citizens.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Kebebasan Pers Indonesia Kian Terancam, Selama 2025 Terjadi 89 Kasus Kekerasan".]
