Indonesian Prison Sex Documentary Too Hot for Justice Ministry

Jakarta Globe, Ismira Lutfia | October 15, 2010

Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar meeting with Indonesian inmates. The minister has reportedly refused to be interviewed for a potentially explosive documentary titled 'The Sex Business Behind Prison Bars.' The documentary's screening on private TV station SCTV has been delayed due to pressure from the ministry. (Antara Photo)    

Jakarta. Media watchdogs have condemned the Justice and Human Rights Ministry for reportedly ordering private TV station SCTV to drop a sensitive broadcast, and have vowed to investigate.

The program, a documentary titled “The Sex Business Behind Prison Bars,” was scheduled to air at 11 p.m. last Wednesday, but was pulled at the last minute by the SCTV management.

Don Bosco Selamun, the SCTV newsroom chief, said the ministry had tried repeatedly to thwart the documentary’s production.

“Our crew were turned away when they tried to interview [Minister] Patrialis [Akbar] for confirmation, and we had requests from the ministry demanding to see the program before it went on air,” he said on Friday. “In all my years as a broadcaster, this is the first time I’ve experienced this.”

He said the SCTV news crew working on the documentary had been subjected to “continuous intimidation” for two days, while the station management also received a phone call from the ministry demanding that the program be scrapped.

Ezky Suyanto, from the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), said the group would meet with SCTV to discuss the issue.

“We’ll do it jointly with the Press Council since this pertains to a journalistic product,” she said. She added that neither the commission nor the council had decided whether to seek clarification from Patrialis.

Meanwhile, the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) called the cancellation of the program “regrettable.”

The group said it condemned the ministry’s actions, calling them a violation of the 1999 Press Law, which prohibits censorship.

Patrialis, however, has denied having anything to do with the cancellation.

Ministry spokesman Martua Batubara, meanwhile, said his office had sent a letter to the broadcaster, but not to demand the program’s cancellation.

“We only requested a copy of the program after its broadcast, for our documentation,” he said.

“It is normal procedure in our media monitoring program to document any news reports regarding the ministry,” he said. “The minister understands press freedoms, and there’s no way he would interfere.”

The AJI said the SCTV team had worked hard to produce the documentary, including getting footage with hidden cameras as proof of the prostitution business in prisons.