In the early hours of 7 March, the Jakarta office of Wahana Lingkungan Indonesia (Walhi), Indonesia’s oldest environment-focused NGO, received an unexpected visit from the police along with several men in plain clothes. One introduced himself as the chief of police of Central Kalimantan. They had come with an arrest warrant for two men named James Watt and Dedi Susanto, who had both previously been summoned by the authorities as witnesses in a palm fruit theft case.

The Central Kalimantan police had also named two farmers as suspects in the case: 35-year-old Hermanus and 27-year-old Dilik. Both men are members of the Sahai Hapakat Farm Group of Penyang Village, located in the Kotawaringin Timur District of Central Kalimantan Province. They were arrested  while harvesting palm fruit on 17 February by security officers of PT. Hamparan Masawit Bangun Persada (HMBP)—a palm oil company subsidiary of Best Group International—with the aid of the Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob).

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Fadiyah Alaidrus

Fadiyah Alaidrus is an English Language Content Editor for New Naratif. Their works have been published in Wall Street Journal, Mongabay, Coconuts Jakarta, Project Multatuli, Tirto, Tempo, etc. Mainly, they write about environmental, gender and human rights issues.

Eduard Lazarus - New Naratif

Eduard Lazarus

Eduard Lazarus is a writer and editor living in Jakarta covering media and political movements. His past work encompasses editing for Remotivi, a Jakarta-based independent media studies publication, and writing on cultural policy for Indonesia Arts Coalition.

Nibras Ali - New Naratif

Astro Ruby

Nibras is a student and a freelance illustrator based in Yogyakarta. His work includes posters and book cover illustrations. Find his work on Instagram @astro.ruby or reach him at antares.vi9@gmail.com.