JAKARTA — Greenpeace has condemned mounting legal actions taken by Indonesian authorities against four activists for protesting illegal shrimp farms damaging a marine park off the island of Java. The four activists from the environmental movement #SaveKarimunjawa have been accused of violating a controversial 2008 law on online speech over posts they made denouncing the shrimp farms operating inside Karimunjawa National Park, an ostensibly protected area. “All of this is a form of silencing the public who are fighting for the environment, who are fighting against the business interests of oligarchs and dirty businesses,” Greenpeace Indonesia said in a statement. Observers have widely condemned the legal action against the four environmental defenders, calling it part of exhaustive efforts by the authorities to censor, intimidate and silence through so-called SLAPP measures, or strategic lawsuit against public participation. Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan, an environmental activist, is standing trial for allegedly spreading online hate while posting about the protection of Indonesia’s Karimunjawa National Park from illegal shrimp farms. Image courtesy of Lingkar Juang Karimunjawa. The most advanced of the ongoing cases is that against Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan, who was charged in June 2023 for his criticism posted on Facebook the previous year. Police arrested him on Dec. 7, 2023, but granted him conditional release the following day. His case eventually came before the Jepara High Court, and on March 19 prosecutors sought a conviction with a jail sentence of 10 months and a fine of 5 million rupiah ($320). The court has…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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