The apparent murder of a 23-year-old Indonesian villager by security guards of a company owned by Indonesian paper manufacturer Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) has sparked outrage among environmental groups worldwide, dealing a major blow to the company's recent sustainability efforts. Indra Pelani, an Indonesian community activist and a farmer, was allegedly beaten to death on February 27 by seven security guards of PT Wira Karya Sakti (WKS), a company owned by APP, in Jambi province, Indonesia, according to reports by Indonesian press. The Jakarta Post quoted Jambi Police chief Brig. Gen. Bambang Sudarisman as saying that the beating started when Pelani and a friend from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) became involved in an argument with the guards when crossing a checkpoint in the area to attend a rice harvest festival. The argument ended with the team members beating Indra while Nick was reportedly told by locals to run away. Indra died in the incident and his body was dumped some 5 kilometers from the company's District 8 area, said Bambang. All seven guards have since surrendered to Indonesian police. Environmental group Greenpeace has condemned the violent incident and said that it was suspending cooperation with APP in implementing their forest conservation policy, even though it is still working with the company on the human rights aspects of their operations. Bustar Maitar, Greenpeace's global head of the Indonesia forest campaign, said that "the conflict resolution process must be prioritised on this case and across all APP operations in order to ensure justice is delivered". He called for a "fair and comprehensive investigation", following which all individuals found responsible for Pelani's death, including members of the security firm and APP, must be held accountable "to the fullest extent of the law". In an open letter of protest spearheaded by the UK Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) published on Friday, a group of 25 European NGOs demanded that APP cooperate fully with investigations and address land conflicts with communities living on concessions owned by the company. The letter, written by groups including Friends of the Earth Netherlands, Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), and the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), was addressed to APP, the Indonesian government and embassy in Brussels, and the European Commission and delegation in Indonesia. APP said in a statement on 2 March that it supported Greenpeace's decision, and that pending the outcome of the investigation, it had required WKS to suspend security officers allegedly involved in the investigation. Its "immediate priority will be to support the familty, the community, and assist with the police investigation", it added. The company said on Monday that it has decided to suspend operations in the area surrounding Pelani's village, and was cutting off ties with the security company PT MCP, who was found to be in violation of its contract terms with WKS. In its letter, the 25 NGOs noted that Indra was "part of a growing network of people monitoring illegalities in the forestry and agriculture sector". They said that according to Indonesian law, any member of the public has the right to monitor the country's forests. "This act of brutality shows how communities and activists are living under a constant threat from companies reliant on raw materials, often from lands the communities own under customary law," said the NGOs.