Indonesia deports US journalist Philip Jacobson over alleged visa violation

The 30-year-old was arrested after attending a public meeting in Borneo, sparking an outcry over press freedom in the Southeast Asian nation

Jakarta has dropped all charges against Jacobson and ‘temporarily blacklisted’ him

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US journalist Philip Jacobson (L). Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00am, 1 Feb 2020Updated: 6:00am, 1 Feb 2020

Indonesia has deported an American journalist working for a website that reported on sensitive environmental issues in the Southeast Asian archipelago over an alleged visa violation, his employer said on Friday.

Philip Jacobson, 30, was initially detained last month after attending a hearing in Borneo involving the local parliament and the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago, Indonesia’s largest indigenous rights advocacy group.

He was later arrested and told he faced up to five years in prison for visiting the country with the wrong visa in a case that drew international headlines.

Jacobson had travelled to Indonesia on a business visa, according to his employer Mongabay.

On Friday, Mongabay, a non-profit media organisation, said Jacobson had been sent to the capital Jakarta and was then put on a flight to the US.

“Before departure, he was informed that the charges against him had been formally dropped,” the website said, adding that Jacobson had been “temporarily blacklisted” by the country.