Indonesian military closed its review of an Army corporal named in a slain journalist's reporting without charges; press groups ask the president to reopen the case
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Journalist Rico Sempurna Pasaribu, his wife, son and grandson died in an arson attack in Kabanjahe, North Sumatra, on 27 June 2024. He had reported on an illegal gambling operation allegedly owned by Cpl. Herman Bukit, an Army 125th Battalion soldier; Bukit told the court as a witness that he did not own it. A civilian court convicted three men in March 2025; two received life sentences and a third received 20 years, raised to life on appeal in June 2025, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). A joint CPJ and Free Press Unlimited investigation found police never questioned Bukit as a suspect or used digital forensics or financial analysis, and that the military concluded on 8 September 2025 that no further action was needed, saying investigators lacked the evidence required to name a suspect; CPJ called that review narrow and inconsistent with witness testimony. Bukit has not been charged. In July 2026 CPJ and five other groups asked President Prabowo Subianto to order the investigation reopened and to have Bukit tried in a civilian court. Military authorities did not respond to CPJ's questions.
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