The Jakarta Globe contributor, Banjir Ambarita, was stabbed by unknown assailants in Jayapura on Wednesday night. He is currently being treated at Marthen Indey Hospital. JG PhotoPapua journalist Banjir Ambarita, was stabbed by unknown assailants in Jayapura on Wednesday night.
Banjir, a local reporter who often contributes to the Jakarta Globe, said he was walking in front of the Jayapura mayor's office when two men on a motorbike approached him and stabbed him twice in the chest and stomach before they sped off. Bleeding, Banjir ran to the nearby police precinct. Police officers took him to Marthen Indey Hospital in Aryoko, Jayapura.
Doctors put him on sedatives because the stab wounds caused him a great pain, said Viktor Mambor, the chairman Alliance of Independent Journalists' (AJI) Jayapura branch.
“We spoke on the phone briefly, Banjir said he was stabbed and was at the hospital,” Viktor said.
Banjir was waiting for a surgery on Thursday morning.
AJI has spoken to the Papua Police Chief Insp. Gen. Bekto Suprapto and Jayapura Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Imam Setiawan.
“We haven't filed an official report because when we came to the police headquarter this morning, they were in the middle of morning inspection,” Viktor said, adding that both police officials were very concerned about the incident.
“The Papua Police and Jayapura Police have formed a joint force to investigate the case,” he said.
No light has been shed on either the identity of the assailants or their motives. Banjir's last report was about the sexual abuse on a female detainee at Jayapura Police's Detention Center.
The scandal emerged last month when a female detainee now being held at Abepura Penitentiary revealed she was forced to perform oral sex on three officers during a three-month period while in remand at the Jayapura Police’s detention center.
The victim told Banjir that the incidents occurred between November and January, when she was being held for illegal gambling.
On Tuesday, Jayapura Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Imam Setiawan announced his resignation.
Imam said he had made the decision because the “moral responsibility” for the incident rested with him, apologizing to the family of the victim and to the public for his failure to prevent the assault.
“As the chief of the Jayapura police force, I hold full responsibility for the immoral acts of my three subordinates,” he said.