BANGKA, Indonesia, Aug 22, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Indonesian police must reopen an investigation into the murder of a journalist this month, a media watchdog said Friday, saying new evidence suggested his reporting on tin mining had led to his killing.

Tin mining, both legal and illegal, has caused extensive environmental damage to the small island of Bangka in western Indonesia, where the metal has been widely extracted for use in global electronics.

The body of Aditya Warman, the 47-year-old executive director of local media website Okeyboz, was found in a well on his farm bearing signs of violence on August 8 after his family reported him missing.

"Emerging evidence suggests that Warman may have paid the ultimate price for investigating tin mining," Reporters Without Borders' Asia-Pacific bureau advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska told AFP.

"It is crucial that the investigation thoroughly examines any links to his reporting on this critical issue and swiftly brings those responsible to justice."

Police last week said Aditya was killed by two men, both aged 34, who wanted to steal and sell his car to pay off online gambling debts. Both were arrested and could face the death penalty if found guilty.

But Aditya's colleagues said he told them his house was apparently being surveilled before his death, and that men claiming to be tin miners had turned up there unannounced.

"A week before he was murdered, he told me that six men came to his house. They told him they were tin miners, but they didn't look like miners, and didn't sound like locals," Dodi Hendriyanto, editor-in-chief of Aditya's site, told AFP.

"They told him they were unhappy with our reports on tin mining, but we don't know which report, because we report on tin mining almost every week," he said.

Police in Bangka Belitung Province did not immediately respond to an AFP comment request.

Indonesian journalists investigating cases of local corruption frequently face intimidation by authorities, according to Reporters Without Borders.

The press freedom watchdog ranked Indonesia 127th out of 180 countries in its 2025 press freedom index, a fall of 16 places from the year prior.