Gustina Salim Rambe appeared quietly distraught as a court on Indonesia’s main western island of Sumatra sentenced her to more than five months in prison for speaking out against the environmental damage caused by a nearby palm oil mill. Gustina’s husband, Sahrul Siregar, said the mill operated by PT Pulo Padang Sawit Permai (PPSP) in Pulo Padang village, Labuhan Batu district, had previously suspended work following direct local actions to block trucks carrying supplies. However, the plant later resumed operations, blanketing adjacent residential areas and two schools with air pollution. Gustina’s attorney, M. Yani Rambe, explained that his client was arrested by Labuhan Batu police on May 20 during a demonstration to oppose the factory reopening, and that she was subsequently charged for her part in obstructing vehicle access to the factory. Gustina’s arrest garnered widespread attention in Indonesia as a video of her behind bars consoling her young daughter spread across social and national media. The 3-year-old toddler reached out to her mother from the other side of the remand cell as Gustina fixed her daughter’s hair. https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/11/04123116/Snapinsta.app_video_D4453B0D41F4D07EC75F788E78DF6C87_video_dashinit.mp4 The video of Gustina consoling her daughter from a jail cell spread across Indonesian social and national media. Video courtesy of rina.senjaa1 via Instagram. Local people said the some 400 children attending the Harisma Private Elementary Madrasah, known as MIS Harisma, had been inhaling smoke every day emitted by the chimney at the factory, which is right next door. “The factory wasn’t put up with any distance from residential areas,” Sahrul…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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