Indonesia: Haze investigators held captive, threatened with death
A large group of about 100 men hired by an Indonesian palm oil firm took several investigators hostage last weekend in an apparent bid to stop their probe into the forest fires blamed for the region’s haze problem. According to Jakarta Globe, the captors, believed to be mobilized by PT Andika Permata Sawit Lestari, a palm oil company operating in Riau province, demanded that the investigators delete photographs and video evidence compiled in their digital cameras. They also threatened to burn their captives alive and throw their remains into a river. The investigators were said to be investigating the burning of a 2,000-hectare area, which was believed to have been set by palm oil company workers who pretended to be local farmers.
