Press Council Responds to Hotman Paris's 'Do You Have a Brain?' Remark to Journalist

The Press Council has expressed regret over a statement made by senior advocate Hotman Paris Hutapea, who is now the lawyer for former Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) Febri Ardiansyah, during a press conference at the Attorney General’s Office in South Jakarta last weekend. During the press conference after accompanying his client for questioning, Hotman Paris retorted to a journalist’s question by saying, “Do you have a brain?” Responding to the incident, Press Council Chairman Komaruddin Hidayat said Hotman’s statement was demeaning to journalists. “We regret the attitude of advocate Hotman Paris, who answered a journalist’s question with a demeaning expression,” Komaruddin said in a video uploaded to the Press Council’s official Instagram account on Monday (20/7). In the video recording, Komaruddin said that based on the council’s investigation, a journalist had asked whether Hotman’s client, Febrie Adriansyah, felt criminalised in the case against him. Hotman’s response was, “What do you think? Do you have a brain?” According to Komaruddin, disagreement or displeasure with a journalist’s question should be addressed in a more rational and ethical manner. The Press Council also urged all parties to respect journalists in carrying out their journalistic work, which is protected by law, particularly Law No. 40/1999 on the Press. Komaruddin emphasised that a journalist asks questions as part of their journalistic duty to gather information and obtain explanations from sources about an event. “A journalist asks questions to dig for information, to hear the source’s version of an event, which is part of the journalistic process protected by Article 4, paragraph 3 of Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press,” he said. Prior to the Press Council’s statement, several Indonesian journalist professional organisations had already issued strong statements condemning Hotman’s actions, with some deeming him arrogant and disrespectful of journalistic dignity. Meanwhile, on Monday afternoon, a group of demonstrators staged a protest in front of Hotman’s office in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. The protest, organised by the Activist Connection group, involved approximately 100 participants. Police deployed 17 personnel from the Kelapa Gading Sector Police to secure the action. The protesters carried three demands: rejecting public deception and misleading narratives by advocate Hotman Paris, insisting that law must be based on evidence rather than displays of wealth and sensation, and calling for the enforcement of law and the eradication of advocates who defend corruptors. Hotman Paris has since issued an apology to journalists and all journalist organisations for his remarks. In a short video uploaded to his Instagram account, Hotman said, “I, Hotman Paris, in connection with the appeal from the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) and fellow journalists, hereby apologise profusely for my statement during the press conference on the case of the former Jampidsus, where I said, ‘Do you have a brain?’” Hotman explained the chronology of events leading to his demeaning remark. He claimed he was emotional at the time after being bombarded with two consecutive questions. He said the first question from a journalist was about an alleged hidden agenda by an institution in the case. Hotman stated he had already said he did not know and lacked the capacity to answer. He then became emotional when a second question was asked before he had finished responding. In a separate social media post, Hotman also apologised for dragging President Prabowo Subianto into his defence, stating his remarks were purely from a legal advocacy perspective and not politically motivated.