Two Young Indonesian Journalists Have Won The 2020 Oktavianus Pogau Award.

The Pantau Foundation has given this year’s Oktavianus Pogau Award to Yael Stefany Sinaga and Widiya Hastuti two University of North Sumatera students (USU) who worked as journalists on the campus magazine Voice of USU and got the sack for publishing a short story touching on lesbian issues.

Widiya Hastuti and Yael Stefany Sinaga. Source: Pantau Foundation.

Why did Yael Sinaga and Widiya Hastuti file a legal suit against the chancellor of the University of North Sumatera? How did the case change their lives? How has the experience affected their attitude towards gay rights, human rights and press freedom? Yael Stefany Sinaga and Widiya Hastuti tell their story.

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Students at North Sumatera University demonstrating against the closure of their campus publication by the chancellor in 2019. Source: Pantau Foundation.