French journalists banished from Indonesia

Two French journalists are to be deported from Indonesia on Wednesday after they filmed a peaceful demonstration in Papua province. Badouin Koenig and Carole Helena Lorthiois were ordered to leave the country after being expelled from the provincial capital Jayapura.

CIA

The district immigration authorities said the journalists had committed a permit violation by filming a protest outside the areas they were permitted.

Koenig, 54, and Lorthiois, 27, were sent to Jakarta. They had been planning to stay in the country until 8 June to make a documentary for the Franco-German channel Arte.

They had arrived in Jayapura to make a documentary about a census, but they stopped to film a human rights rally. But Koenig only had permission to film cultural activities in certain areas and Lorthiois did not have a journalism visa, authorities said.

Papua province is closed to foreign journalists and aid workers without special permission. This means claims of human rights abuses there cannot be independently verified.