Journalist Organisations Unite to Condemn Hotman Paris for Disparaging Remarks

A number of professional journalist organisations in Indonesia have jointly issued a strong condemnation against lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea, accusing him of being arrogant and demeaning the dignity of journalists during a press conference at the Attorney General’s Office on Friday (17/7). The condemnation came from the Forum of Editors-in-Chief (Forum Pemred), the Indonesian Television Journalists Association (IJTI), the Central Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI), and the Legal Journalists Association (Iwakum). The incident began when Hotman was speaking on behalf of his client, former Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes Febrie Adriansyah, who is now a suspect in a corruption case. Instead of responding professionally, Hotman reacted to a barrage of journalists’ questions with words considered insulting and intimidating. He reportedly made remarks such as ‘do you even have a brain?’, told a journalist to ‘shut up’ and ask their grandfather, and labelled journalists as ‘cowards’ if they did not dare to question the National Police Headquarters. Forum Pemred Chairperson Retno Pinasti deplored Hotman’s choice of words and attitude, deeming them highly inappropriate and failing to address the substance of the questions. She reminded that asking questions and verifying data is a journalist’s right and work discipline protected by Press Law Number 40 of 1999. Echoing this sentiment, IJTI Chairman Herik Kurniawan stressed that critical questions from journalists are not an attempt to cause trouble but part of their professional obligation to produce balanced reporting. He noted that Hotman’s verbal actions violated the values of professionalism and the Journalistic Code of Ethics. As a consequence of this verbal arrogance, PWI Central and Iwakum have formally urged Hotman Paris to issue a public apology to the press. PWI Central Chairman Akhmad Munir stated that while an advocate has the right to refuse to answer questions to defend a client, that right should not be used to intimidate another profession. Iwakum issued a harsher demand, with Chairman Irfan Kamil stating that Hotman’s statements were not merely criticism but a direct attack on the intellectual capacity of journalists. Iwakum requested that the advocate’s professional organisation investigate the alleged ethical violation. The four organisations agreed that advocates and journalists both play strategic roles in law enforcement and that mutual respect must be prioritised to maintain a healthy democratic climate.