Save Eric: Prison, Deportation & Family Separation

  Please Help Save Eric Foraker from Prison, Deportation & Family Separation

Eric’s dog was killed and eaten, and now he’s facing deportation, financial ruin, and separation from his wife and daughter.

After the world locked down in early 2020, Eric was forced to close his surf camp in Indonesia as tourism ceased. Eric and his family had no income, and food on their island was rationed. On June 30th, Eric and his family were visiting friends who’d arrived by boat, leaving their dogs behind on land. The dogs were attacked by a group of young men; one of their dogs, Maggie, was killed. When Eric and his family returned to the island, they too were confronted by the men, now carrying Eric’s dead dog. Eric and his thirteen year-old son were knocked to the ground. Eric briefly wrestled with one of his attackers. This has resulted in legal prosecution against Eric.  

Eric is now entangled in a legal system that has consistently disregarded the truth. Denied some of the legal rights ascribed by Indonesian law, Eric was sentenced to jail followed by immediate deportation and blacklisting (a period of time where he would be prohibited from returning). His business - a life-long passion and primary source of employment for local islanders - will fail. And because his young daughter does not yet have a US passport, Eric’s deportation will result in indefinite separation from his family.

Eric is now launching a legal appeal. This appeal is expensive, and comes after months of legal fees and amidst the total shut down of tourism that has starved Eric of income. Eric needs help with his court fees, with the cost of legal representation, and even with basic living expenses. We ask that you do what you can to help Eric in his fight against imprisonment and deportation. Eric is an innocent man who deserves justice, and your financial support is critical.


Please consider donating what you can in these trying times. Any amount helps. It has been a long, lonely road for Eric and his family, and any support would be deeply appreciated. 

Your donation could mean the difference between a family torn apart and the miracle of justice.
Continue reading below for more details on Eric’s case. 

With Love & Gratitude,

Eric’s Team


*** (4 minute read)

Since the events of June 30th, Eric and his family continue to mourn the death of their Doberman, Maggie. Wowo, their Dogo Argentino injured in the attack, was nursed back to health after being unable to walk. The attack has been difficult for the entire family, and even the entire island. When other islanders went to gather evidence of what happened that night, what they found was disturbing…

Eric had severely twisted his knee that night, falling on the loose rocks. He was unable to carry Maggie back home to be buried. She was at the water’s edge and the family hoped the tide would take her to a burial at sea. When they returned to the camp the staff members were upset and went to retrieve Maggie. It was reported to them that the people who killed her had returned, taken her body, and eaten her! The killing of the dog was an inexplicable event. The people were not Eric’s enemies. They have a different value about pets than other cultures and for these particular individuals, it was just something they did for fun. It seems unbelievable, but it is a different world out there. 

A day after the event, to everyone’s shock the police arrived on the island. The people who killed and ate Maggie had gathered members of their family, and made a false police report. They said they had found the dead dog and were bringing it to Eric, who suddenly arrived and attacked them. They did this out of fear that Eric would report the killing of the dog and attack on him and his son to the police. The talk on the island is that they created the opportunity to exonerate themselves from killing the dog and injuring Eric and his son while also extorting money from Eric.  Eric was forced to leave the island for the nearby police precinct - where he had to pay living expenses which Eric was hard-pressed to afford.

Arriving at the police precinct, Eric was denied his legal rights to a translator and intimidated into signing a release form under the threat of indefinite detention and the seizure of his passport. According to the police, these documents - which Eric could not read - were merely a formality in order to complete the necessary police reports. Eric and his family were made to stay near the precinct for a week while reports were filed. During the investigation into Eric’s report filed regarding the attack on his dogs, Eric provided a few people  who confirmed the attack on his dogs. These people were told directly by the perpetrator that they did stone the dog to death. There were also witnesses to the eating of the dog, but they were not questioned by police despite the police being told about them.  They quickly closed the case without doing a proper investigation. During his time at the police precinct a doctor also made an official report on the injuries Eric and his son sustained during the attack. Both of these reports were documented by the police.

In the weeks that followed, Eric’s witness reports and medical documents were ignored while other, competing testimony was accepted into the case. Eric had no translator (which must be provided as per Indonesian law) or a lawyer to help guide him through the initial investigation as he had no way to pay the lawyer to travel there or pay for his accommodation while the investigation proceeded. 

In August, Eric was formally charged. His US passport was confiscated and he was forced to make frequent visits from his island to immigration and the prosecutors office in Padang precinct, incurring more travel and living costs. Eric’s trial began in September in Padang, a city 120 nautical miles from his home. The trial lawyer’s bill was expensive, as Eric had to convince him to take the case with only the promise that he could pay later. Eric barely managed to afford food and shelter in Padang with the help of his family and the promise to the owner of the homestay that he would pay in the future. 

During the trial, Eric was again denied the right to a translator, and his lawyer was unable to obtain the police reports that would be the basis for a proper legal defense. The evidence presented against Eric was incredibly weak. Even though there were only 4 people from their side at the scene, 9 people were allowed to testify as witnesses (a few were young children who were not at the scene and were guided by their mother) AND the 9 were all (illegally) allowed to testify as a GROUP. Eric was accused of assaulting one of the 4 people who had attacked Eric that night. When they knocked him to the ground one of them had fallen with Eric and landed on top of him. Eric, fearing he was about to be kicked by the other 3, wrestled with him in an attempt to get up and escape the impending attack.  Both Eric and the alleged victim obtained cuts from the rocky beach during this event. Presented as evidence was a doctors report of the alleged victims injuries, which were described as scrapes, clearly from rolling on the rocks.  They do not match what was claimed by the other party to have occurred in the incident - Eric delivering several punches to the face while sitting atop his body. While the injuries in the doctors report clearly match the events described in Eric’s family’s side of events, the police and judges accepted the report as evidence against Eric and his family’s side of the story. The judges in the case also blocked for submission as evidence the doctor’s report on injuries sustained by Eric as well and his son, who was pushed down by one of the perpetrators as they ran away. Eric’s doctors report noted a lack of any damage to his knuckles. Another piece of evidence that could’ve supported Eric. Perhaps the most bizarre part of the trial was when after some of the witnesses described the victims shirt as being “full of blood” after the event, the prosecutor held up Eric's gray shirt with no stains, tears, or anything to support their story and submitted as evidence of the attack.  

There was no material evidence of him punching the victim. 

Eric’s own witnesses to the events were disregarded.

The judges found Eric guilty, sentencing him to seven months in jail, followed by immediate deportation and blacklisting from Indonesia. He will be separated from his wife and daughter, who cannot obtain a US passport in his absence. Eric’s business will fail, ending his life’s work and depriving some local islanders with a primary source of employment. Tourism to the island will cease.

Please help us seek justice. Your financial support can have a real impact for an innocent man, his loving family, and for an island that seeks Eric’s freedom.

Also, if you can’t afford to donate, maybe call, text or email Eric. 

Some friendly voices and messages would really help right now.
You can reach him at [email redacted]
WhatsApp +62 [phone redacted]-9869
Or message him on Facebook or Instagram. 
Maybe even tell your friends to have a look at what Eric has devoted his life to building for the past 6 years.
They can check it out at Surf SMO  
I know Eric can't wait to get through this and get back to taking people surfing!