Defendant says they arrested the wrong man<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A man on trial for defaming President Soeharto
\nby printing an unlicensed magazine told the court yesterday that
\nthe court was trying the wrong person.<\/p>\n
Defendant Andi Syahputra told the South Jakarta District Court
\nthat the prosecutor was not serious about doing his job and this
\nresulted in his arrest.<\/p>\n
He said in his defense statement that he was not responsible
\nfor the publication of Suara Independen but the organization
\nwhich published it was.<\/p>\n
Last week prosecutor D. Munthe asked the court to sentence
\nAndi to four years in jail because he had been proven guilty of
\ndefaming Soeharto by printing the magazine. It contained a
\nheadline degrading the President and tarnishing his image.<\/p>\n
Andi said that Australia-based Indonesian Society for
\nAlternative Press had stated in a letter to his defense lawyer --
\nand shown to the judges -- that it was totally responsible for
\nthe publication.<\/p>\n
The organizations' name and address were clearly printed on
\nthe magazine, said Andi, who had printed it four times.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Irianto Subiakto told the court that the target of the
\npolice was not his client but the magazine.<\/p>\n
"The real target was the ones who published the magazine but
\nthe police could not find them, so they nabbed Andi," he said.<\/p>\n
Irianto added that the police only produced a warrant after
\nhis client arrived at the South Jakarta Police Precinct.<\/p>\n
Andi said an order was placed by the Indonesian Society for
\nAlternative Press to print 5,000 copies of the magazine, and he
\naccepted the order for business reasons.<\/p>\n
According to the defendant he had the last issue of the
\nmagazine printed at Zaiyan Putra printers because his own
\nprinting shop was busy.<\/p>\n
Andi was arrested with the printery owner, Jazrul Zen, after
\npolice raided the printing shop and confiscated 3,000 copies of
\nSuara Independen.<\/p>\n
The defendant said he believed the arrest was a
\nmisunderstanding and somebody else should be held responsible, so
\nhe called his family to find a lawyer for him and Jazrul.<\/p>\n
But, Andi said, Jazrul refused his offer. The businessman was
\nlater appointed a lawyer by the court, he added.<\/p>\n
Andi said he knew that Jazrul was now free. "If he can be, so
\nI should be," he said.<\/p>\n
The trial was adjourned until tomorrow to hear the
\nprosecutors' statement on Andi's defense. (13)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/defendant-says-they-arrested-the-wrong-man-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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