Press Council Asks Police to Find Pig Head Terror Perpetrators to “Tempo”

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Press Council strongly condemns the terror involving the delivery of a package containing a pig's head to Tempo's editorial office. The Press Council urges the police to promptly identify the perpetrator of the terror. If left unchecked, similar cases threatening press freedom will continue to recur.

The Chairperson of the Press Council, Ninik Rahayu, stated that terror against the press constitutes a form of violence and thuggery. She urged law enforcement authorities to thoroughly investigate the perpetrators of the terror directed at Tempo journalists.

"We earnestly request the National Police Chief (General Listyo Sigit Prabowo) and all ranks to immediately find the perpetrator and identify their motive. Because if it is left unchecked, the terror will surely recur," he stated at the Press Council Building, Jakarta, on Friday afternoon (21/3/2025).

Tempo's editorial office received a terror package containing a pig's head, Wednesday (3/19/2025) at 16:15. The package was addressed to Francisca Christy Rosana or Cica, a political desk journalist and host of the Bocor Alus Politik podcast. However, Cica only received the package on Thursday (3/20/2025) at 15:00 WIB.

The reporting of the terror is expected to prompt the police to respond to the case more swiftly. Ninik stated that acts of terror and intimidation are crimes that can disrupt the work of journalists and undermine democracy.

"Now there are digital tools that can be very helpful (in uncovering perpetrators of terror), such as CCTV (surveillance cameras). It is truly hoped that under the leadership of Police Chief Listyo, I am confident that (the police) have the capability to quickly apprehend the perpetrators," he explained.

The Press Council asked the press not to be afraid of various types of threats and to continue working professionally.

According to Ninik, the terror indicates that there are parties who feel disadvantaged by Tempo's journalistic work. She emphasized that objections to news coverage or journalistic products can be addressed by submitting a right of reply or a correction right as stipulated in Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press.

"The Press Council also appeals to all parties to no longer use uncivilized methods in submitting objections to news reports or journalistic works produced by the press," he said.

The terror against Tempo not only signals a threat to the media crew, but also to press freedom in Indonesia. Ninik said that terror against the press also violates human rights because it hinders the public's right to obtain information.

"The Press Council asks the press not to be afraid of various types of threats and to continue working professionally. The press also remains critical in conveying messages of truth and input to policy makers so that the public can get complete information from various parties," he said.

Press Council member Totok Suryanto hopes that the work of the press in Indonesia will be more professional. That way, the position of the press as the fourth pillar of democracy will be stronger.

"Things that can disrupt the continued upholding of democracy, of course we are very concerned about that," he said.

Tempo Deputy Editor-in-Chief Bagja Hidayat said that the pig head terror was not only a terror against Tempo, but against freedom of the press and expression as a whole. He suspected that the terror was also aimed at dividing public attention towards the revision of the TNI Law which was criticized by many parties.

Bagja said that his party did not yet know for sure the meaning or message of the pig's head package that was sent. "However, sending the organs of living creatures is, right, incredibly horrific. At least there is a living creature that was sacrificed to send this message to Tempo," he said.

Secretary General of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia Bayu Wardhana said that many reports of violence against journalists have not been revealed. The police and TNI are the parties that commit the most violence.

"Although many have not been revealed, terror or violence against journalists must continue to be reported. The police must find the perpetrators. Because, if not revealed, this can normalize cases of violence so that they will continue to recur," he said.