Freedom of expression pressed<\/p>\n
The International Freedom to Publish Committee of the
\nAssociation of American Publishers strongly condemns the verdict
\nand sentence handed down to Andi Syahputra, printer of the
\nunderground magazine Suara Independen (Voice of Independence),
\nand calls on the government of Indonesia to cease its assault on
\nfree expression. On April 7, Syahputra was convicted in Jakarta
\nDistrict Court of insulting the President and was sentenced to 30
\nmonths in prison. The prosecutor had requested four years.<\/p>\n
Syahputra was arrested on the night of Oct. 28, 1996, when
\npolice confiscated 3,000 copies of the latest issue of the
\nmagazine. The prosecution later accused him of developing 12 film
\nnegatives that contained material for the magazine, including
\nseveral articles that the government found offensive. It also
\nincluded an article about a challenge mounted to Soeharto by
\nopposition politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas (who was later
\narrested for subversion). The article suggested that it was time
\nfor a new political party. A third article reported the results
\nof a survey on the causes of the July 1996 riots in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Syahputra was accused of having ordered the printing of the
\nmagazine from the negatives at a cost of Rp 800,000 (about
\nUS$400). In convicting him, the judge said that Syahputra had
\ndeliberately insulted the President because he knew the contents
\nof the articles, and therefore could have canceled its printing.
\nSyahputra took full responsibility for the publication.<\/p>\n
JERI LABER<\/p>\n
New York<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/freedom-of-expression-pressed-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }