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Earlier this September, Gatot Supriyanto Machali, director of Erabaru FM in the city of Batam, was sentenced to six months in prison for operating a radio station without a licence.

Gatot alleges that the real reason for his imprisonment is his criticism of China's human rights record and that the Chinese authorities have pressured the Indonesians into taking heavy-handed action against him. Gatot's broadcasts had particularly criticised China's suppression of the Falun Gong spiritual movement. 

Erabaru FM, Gatot's station, has been on the air since 2005 when it was granted a provisional licence by the local authorities. However, in 2008 the Communications and Information Technology Ministry refused to grant it a full licence. Erabaru FM has appealed that decision, and this appeal has remained pending before the Supreme Court without being heard.

It has been reported in the Indonesian press that the 2008 decision to refuse a licence as well as Gotat's imprisonment have come about at the behest of the Chinese authorities. In a leaked letter dated April 8, 2007, and addressed to the Foreign Ministry, the Chinese embassy reportedly asked the Indonesian government “to terminate the license of [Radio Erabaru].” Copies were allegedly sent to the State Intelligence Agency, the Home Affairs Ministry, the Communications and Information Technology Ministry and the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission.

MLDI's partner in Indonesia, the Legal Aid Centre for the Media (Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Pers, LBH Pers) has taken up Gatot's defence.

LBH Pers chairman Hendrayana commented to the Jakarta Globe that “the decision [on the permit] is not yet final, so the authorities should not have prosecuted Gatot, and instead should have respected the legal process that is taking place.”

“The government should be at the forefront of upholding our broadcasting sovereignty and press freedom in the country,” Hendrayana stated.

Instead, he added, it had caved in to the alleged intervention.