Winda Nelfira, Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia has highlighted the series of terror attacks at the end of 2025 that befell Greenpeace Indonesia activist Iqbal Damanik and influencers DJ Donny, Virdian Aurellio and Sherly Annavita.
The incidents experienced by these activists and influencers is not considered to just be ordinary criminal cases, but an attack on the freedom of expression of Indonesian citizens which is guaranteed by the Constitution.
"The terror of chicken carcasses, throwing rotten eggs, vandalism, Molotov cocktail attacks and digital attacks are systematic efforts to create a climate of fear", said Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid in a written statement on Thursday January 1.
Silencing public criticism
According to Hamid, this pattern of terror has a common thread, namely the silencing of public criticism of the government's poor handling of the ecological disaster in Sumatra due to pro-deforestation policies.
"Criticism born of humanitarian solidarity and a spirit of improvement is actually met with physical and digital intimidation", said Hamid.
Hamid explained that the threatening message reading "Your Mouth is Your Own Worst Enemy" addressed to Damanik and influencers DJ Donny, Annavita and Aurellio shows that the state does not represent a legal deterrent. The reason being that certain people dare to carry out acts of digital and physical terror, as if without any fear of the law.
Urging government, police to take action
Furthermore, Hamid is waiting to see if the government carries out an investigation into the acts of terror that befell these activists and influencers. He said that the government's silence would actually be confirmation that crimes against human rights (HAM) can be tolerated.
"If terror passes without investigation, the state indirectly approves of anti-criticism practices and validates Amnesty's concerns that 2025 is the year of a national human rights disaster", said Usman.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Amnesty International Soroti Teror ke Influencer-Aktivis: Upaya Sistematis Ciptakan Iklim Ketakutan".]
