Editor asks court to acquit him<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: The chief editor of Indonesian daily newspaper Rakyat
\nMerdeka asked the South Jakarta District Court to acquit him of
\ndefaming Golkar party leader Akbar Tandjung.<\/p>\n
In response to prosecution demands for a five-month jail term
\nfor publishing a caricature of the disgraced politician, lawyers
\nacting for Karim Papulungan told the court Tuesday that their
\nclient was innocent.<\/p>\n
The lawyers said that during the trial the prosecutors had
\nmanipulated fact and tricked Karim into testifying that all
\nwitness testimonies were true.<\/p>\n
Karim did not believe that the testimonies of all witnesses
\nwere true, especially regarding statements he had defamed and
\nattacked Akbar's dignity, the lawyers said.<\/p>\n
The trial was adjourned till next week when the court is
\nexpected to deliver its verdict.<\/p>\n
The controversial caricature accompanied an article entitled
\nAkbar finished, Golkar cries tears of blood on the front page of
\nthe paper's Jan. 8, 2002 edition.<\/p>\n
The caricature was published after a court sentenced Akbar to
\nthree years in jail for his role in a corruption case involving
\nRp 40 billion (US$4.8 million) intended to feed the poor. Akbar
\nremains free pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Another of the paper's editors, Supratman, is on trial for
\npublishing stories deemed insulting to President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri.-- Antara<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/editor-asks-court-to-acquit-him-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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