JAKARTA (UCAN): Francisca Christy Rosana, a Catholic journlist at the political desk of Indonesian news magazine, Tempo, and host of a popular podcast received a package containing a pig’s head from an unknown sender, in what is suspected to be an act of intimidation on March 19.
Rosana, one of three journalists from Indonesia to accompany Pope Francis on his plane during his visit to Asia-Oceania countries in September last year, took delivery of a cardboard box lined with Styrofoam addressed to “Cica”—her nickname—containing a pig’s head with its ears cut off. It was already rotting.
Rosana’s weekly podcast “Bocor Alus,” posted on the magazine’s YouTube channel and Spotify, focuses on politics and is often critical of the government.
Tempo’s editor-in-chief, Setri Yasra, called the act “an attempt to intimidate and obstruct journalism.”
Yasra said, “We are taking further steps,” adding that journalists are protected under Law No. 40 of 1999, which guarantees press freedom and journalist protection in Indonesia.
“Press freedom must not be terrorised, disrupted, or intimidated for any reason, as every media outlet operates under the regulations set by law,” he added.
Press Council chairperson, Ninik Rahayu, condemned the act as a criminal offense.
Rosana, one of three journalists from Indonesia to accompany Pope Francis on his plane during his visit to Asia-Oceania countries in September last year, took delivery of a cardboard box lined with Styrofoam addressed to “Cica”—her nickname—containing a pig’s head with its ears cut off. It was already rotting
“The terror act… was likely carried out by parties feeling cornered and unwilling to take responsibility,” she said.
Rahayu said if there were any objections to Tempo’s reporting, the press regulations allowed the “right to reply.”
She asked for a “thorough investigation” to punish the guilty “so that such incidents do not happen again.”
The Alliance of Independent Journalists and the Press Legal Aid Institute in a joint statement called the act “an attack and threat to the public interest, especially the public’s right to quality news in Indonesia.”
A group of 44 academics, activists, journalists and Catholic priests from the Jakarta-based Driyarkara School of Philosophy also issued a statement saying, “We are with Tempo and media workers.”
Father Otto Gusti Madung, rector of the Ledalero Institute of Philosophy and Creative Technology said that “repressive actions have begun to emerge” under the rule of President Prabowo Subianto’s government.
Rosana became well-known in Indonesia after celebrating her birthday on the papal plane last year. Pope Francis greeted her, placed his hand on her forehead and blessed her.
In a report in Tempo, Rosana said that she told the pope “This is the best gift from God,” and “Please pray for my country, please pray for democracy in my country.”
In August last year, the car of her co-host, Hussein Abri Dongoran, was damaged by unknown miscreants. The investigation has not made much progress.
There have been 17 cases of attacks on journalists this year, according to data gathered by the Alliance of Independent Journalists. In 2024, it recorded 74 cases, down from 101 in 2023, but higher than 64 cases in 2022 and 42 cases in 2021.
Rico Sempurna Pasaribu, a journalist in North Sumatra, along with his wife and their two children died after their house was burned down in July last year.
The trial is currently underway at the Karo District Court and, on March 17, the prosecutor demanded the death penalty for the three accused.
