Court seizes Goenawan's home over libel<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The East Jakarta District Court has given an order to confiscate
\nthe residence of Tempo weekly's co-founder Goenawan Mohamad as
\ncollateral in a libel suit filed by businessman Tomy Winata.<\/p>\n
A panel of judges consisting of Mabruq Nur, Surya Darma Belo
\nand Rustam Idris signed the court order on Sept. 25.<\/p>\n
Besides Goenawan's house on Jl. Tanah Mas IIB No. 19, Kayu
\nPutih subdistrict, Pulo Mas, East Jakarta, the judges also
\napproved Tomy's demand to confiscate the office building of Koran
\nTempo daily on Jl. Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Under the Indonesian legal system, it is common for the
\nplaintiff in a civil lawsuit to request that the defendant's
\nproperty be confiscated as collateral.<\/p>\n
Such confiscation requires a legal agreement made earlier
\nbetween the plaintiff and the defendant, as well as ownership
\ndocuments for the property or, if the property is a plot of land,
\nthe plaintiff can present a letter issued by the National Land
\nAgency (BPN) declaring the owner of the land.<\/p>\n
A court can only give an order to confiscate property if the
\nproperty falls within the court's jurisdiction; a court can also
\ndelegate the confiscation order to another court that has
\njurisdiction over the property.<\/p>\n
Tomy filed a civil suit against Goenawan for defamation over
\nthe latter's statement printed on Feb. 6 in Koran Tempo daily, in
\nan article titled Don't let the country fall into the hand of
\nthugs\/TW.<\/p>\n
The court bailiffs arrived at 11 a.m. at the house, where the
\nmedia had been waiting. They did not answer questions as to
\nwhether they had received the required documents from Tempo
\nsenior editor Fikri Jufri and former attorney general Marsillam
\nSimandjuntak, who were also at the site.<\/p>\n
The house was vacant, as Goenawan was in Surabaya to attend a
\nwedding party. Bubun, who introduced himself as a staff at the
\nhouse, received the court order, which stated that Goenawan was
\nstill allowed to reside at that address, but was prohibited from
\nhanding over the property to another party.<\/p>\n
The same day, the Central Jakarta District Court heard the
\ndefense's testimony given by Tempo chief editor Bambang Harymurti
\nand journalists Iskandar Ali and Ahmad Taufik, who have been
\ncharged with defamation, also against Tomy Winata, in an article
\npublished in March.<\/p>\n
'Fake documents' found in Tempo case<\/p>\n
The defense team representing Tempo weekly filed a complaint on
\nMonday with National Police Headquarters over the use of
\nallegedly fraudulent documents as evidence by Jakarta Police
\ninvestigators in a libel suit filed by businessman Tomy Winata
\nagainst the weekly's journalists.<\/p>\n
\"We are reporting fraudulence in the dossiers of Bambang
\nHarymurti, and of Ahmad Taufik and T. Iskandar Ali,\" said lawyer
\nTrimoelja D. Soerjadi, referring to the magazine's chief editor
\nand two journalists.<\/p>\n
Trimoelja said his team had found blatant irregularities in
\nthe dates of those documents.<\/p>\n
The documents concern the receipt from Tomy of Tempo's March
\n3-9 edition, which ran the article Ada Tomy di 'Tenabang'?, and a
\nletter from Governor Sutiyoso, which says that Tomy never
\nsubmitted a proposal to renovate Tanah Abang market. The magazine
\ncopy and the letter were to be used as evidence.<\/p>\n
The receipt was issued by Adj. Comr. Ponadi on March 11, while
\nthe warrant to \"seize\" the evidence and to open an investigation
\non the case was issued on March 12 by Jakarta Police detective
\nAdj. Sr. Comr. Tito Karnavian; Sutiyoso's letter was dated March
\n13.<\/p>\n
\"This is simply impossible. The logic is, the execution
\nfollows the order. But, we can see that the execution had taken
\nplace even before the order to confiscate the evidence was made,\"
\nsaid Trimoelja.<\/p>\n
The lawyer was accompanied by defense team leader Todung Mulya
\nLubis and Bambang Harymurti.<\/p>\n
Trimoelja urged police to investigate the alleged fraud, which
\nmight implicate police investigators connected to the case.<\/p>\n
Police officers at Jakarta Police Headquarters were available
\nfor comment, including Tito. -- JP<\/p>\n
Legal battle between Tomy Winata and Tempo<\/p>\n
Civil lawsuits
\n1. Libel suit against Tempo publishing company PT Tempo Inti Media,
\ncompany director Zulkifli Lubis, company general manager Fikri Jufri,
\nTempo chief editor Bambang Harymurti, deputy chief editor Toriq Hadad,
\njournalists Ahmad Taufik, Bernarda Rurit and Cahyo Junaedy.
\nVenue: Central Jakarta District Court
\nLegal representation: Otto Cornelis Kaligis
\nDemand: Compensation of Rp 200 billion (US$23.5 million) for potential
\nloss caused by the Ada Tomy di 'Tenabang'? article.<\/p>\n
2. Libel suit against PT Tempo Inti Media and Ahmad Taufik
\nVenue: Central Jakarta District Court
\nLegal representation: Klinik Bantuan Hukum 24 Jam
\nDemand: Compensation of Rp 120 billion for Ahmad Taufik's Chronology
\nof the attack of Tomy Winata on Tempo, spread via the Internet.<\/p>\n
3. Libel suit against Tempo patron Goenawan Mohamad and PT Tempo Inti
\nMedia
\nVenue: East Jakarta District Court
\nLegal representation: Erman Umar & Associates
\nDemand: Compensation of Rp 21 billion for Goenawan's remark on March
\n11 after a meeting with National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar,
\nreminding the people not to let the country fall into the hands of
\nthugs, such as Tomy Winata.<\/p>\n
4. Libel suit against Koran Tempo daily chief editor Bambang
\nHarymurti, journalist Dedy Kurniawan and publishing company PT Tempo
\nInti Media Harian
\nVenue: South Jakarta District Court
\nLegal representation: Hamdan, Sudjana & Partners
\nDemand: Compensation of Rp 21 billion for article titled (Southeast
\nSulawesi) Governor Ali Mazi Denies Tomy Winata To Open Gambling Den on
\nFeb. 6.<\/p>\n
Criminal case
\nLibel suit at Central Jakarta District Court against Bambang
\nHarymurti, Iskandar Ali and Ahmad Taufik, with the prosecution
\naccusing the three of violating Articles 14(1) and 14(2) of the 1946
\nCriminal Code on deliberately publishing a news report to provoke
\nunrest. The charges carry maximum sentences of 10 years and three
\nyears in jail, respectively.<\/p>\n
Source: The Jakarta Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/court-seizes-goenawans-home-over-libel-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }