“He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Mr. Aryo said.
Mr. Jacobson, 30, was first detained after he attended a meeting between the Central Kalimantan Provincial Parliament and the local chapter of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, which is Indonesia’s largest indigenous rights group.
As a reporter for Mongabay, Mr. Jacobson wrote articles about a paper company that illicitly set up a shell company to secretly clear forest land, and another that analyzed the environmental record of the country’s president, Joko Widodo.
He faces up to five years in prison if found to have violated immigration law. At this point, the best outcome for Mr. Jacobson would appear to be his quick deportation, Mr. Aryo said.
A letter of arrest dated Tuesday said that it was necessary to take Mr. Jacobson into custody for further investigation since he was “strongly alleged to commit a crime based on sufficient initial evidence.” The letter was signed by immigration officials and Mr. Jacobson.
Mongabay, which covers environmental issues around the world, said that it was working to free him.
“We are supporting Philip in this ongoing case and making every effort to comply with Indonesia’s immigration authorities,” said Mongabay’s founder and C.E.O., Rhett A. Butler, who is based in the United States. “I am surprised that immigration officials have taken such punitive action against Philip for what is an administrative matter.”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/world/asia/indonesia-journalist-philip-jacobson.html?emc=rss&partner=rss
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