Report on the death of Journalist Adriansyah Matrais
Peace Brigades International Indonesia Project is saddened to inform you that Adriansyah Matrais a member of Foker (Forum Kerja Lembaga Sosial Masyarakat, NGO working forum) has died under suspicious circumstances.
Adriansyah worked as a journalist for the Foker bi-weekly tabloid JUBI (Jujur Bicara, Honest Talk) and Merauke TV. He was initially declared missing in Merauke Regency, Papua Province on 28 July 2010 when his motorbike and sandal were found on a bridge near the River Maro. On 30 June 2010 the naked body of Adriansyah was discovered in the Gudang Arang River.Initial reports claimed that his body was found handcuffed, however later this claim was disproven.
In March 2010 PBI was contacted by Foker in regards to security concerns they had for their employee Adriansyah. In the 11 March 2010 bi-weekly update Peace Brigades International brought these concerns to the attention of its support network. Peace Brigades International also agreed to monitor his security situation by offering weekly check in calls and protective accompaniment until Adriansyah felt secure.
In an attempt to reduce the level of threats and improve the personal security situation of Adriansyah, Pak Viktor from Foker advised Adriansyah to cease his investigations in Jayapura Regency, Papua Province and return to his home in Merauke Regency, Papua Province.
During this period of increased intimidation, Adriansyah had been investigating financial irregularities in funding for improvements in Mandala Stadium (Jayapura Regency, Papua Province), in the plans to build a bridge over Yotefa Bay as part of a ring road for Jayapura (Jayapura Regency, Papua Province) and in the provision of electricity to Enggros Island (Jayapura Regency, Papua Province), as well as following up on unresolved human rights cases in Papua and investigating illegal logging in Keeron District, Papua Province
PBI will continue to monitor the situation and release updates concerning any developments in the case.
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