Media freedom under attack as newsmen jailed<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso H.N, The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung<\/p>\n
Media freedom in Indonesia is on the brink of ruin, with two
\nsenior journalists in Lampung being sentenced to nine months in
\njail for defamation.<\/p>\n
The verdicts on Wednesday are hurtful to democracy, moreover
\ncoming on the heels of government efforts to produce a new
\nCriminal Code that will be detrimental to freedom of expression,
\na legal expert commented.<\/p>\n
The two journalists, Darwin Ruslinur and Budiono Syahputra,
\nreceived the jail terms after they were found guilty of defaming
\nAlzier Dianis Thabranie, chairman of Golkar Party's Lampung
\nchapter. The case surfaced last year when defendant Budiono, the
\nmanaging editor of Koridor weekly tabloid, was informed by an
\nanonymous Golkar member that Alzier and his colleague Indra
\nKaryadi had yet to disburse an amount of Rp 1.25 billion
\n(US$131,500) to him. The money was supposed to have been
\ndistributed by the Golkar member to Golkar supporters. The
\nsupporters were to receive Rp 50,000 each during first round of
\npresidential elections last year to encourage them to vote for
\nthe presidential candidate backed by Golkar. Darwin Ruslinur, the
\ntabloid's chief editor, said that the case was newsworthy and
\nthat should be printed.<\/p>\n
The news article, printed on page 18 of the tabloid's July
\nedition last year, was headed \"Alzier and Indra Karyadi allegedly
\nembezzle Rp 1.25b Golkar fund\".<\/p>\n
At Wednesday's court session, presiding judge Iskandar Tjake
\nfound that the tabloid never confirmed the story with Alzier and
\nIndra Karyadi, and on this basis he decided that the two
\njournalists were guilty of defamation.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the verdict, legal expert Hinca Panjaitan
\nstressed in Jakarta on Thursday that the verdict would hurt
\ndemocracy and the anticorruption drive. The role of the media,
\naccording to Hinca, is crucial in the country's fight against
\nwidespread corruption. If media freedom is curtailed, the battle
\nagainst corruption will fade, said Hinca.<\/p>\n
Azwar Arifin, the lawyer representing the two journalists,
\nsaid that the verdict was unfair. The judges should have used the
\nPress Law to decide the fate of the two journalists, as this law
\nfocused on prosecuting matters related to the media, rather than
\nthe criminal law. As his clients were being sent to jail, Azwar
\nsaid that they would file an appeal to the high court.<\/p>\n
In a separate development, in yet another sign that media
\nfreedom was under attack, Bambang Harymurti, the chief editor of
\nTempo weekly magazine, revealed on Wednesday that last week the
\nhigh court had upheld a decision by a lower court sentencing him
\nto one year in jail for defaming business tycoon Tommy Winata.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the media in Lampung, Bambang regretted the latest
\ndecision by the high court, saying that he found inconsistency in
\nthe decision. On one hand, the high court judges applied the
\nPress Law, but on the other, they applied criminal law. \"The
\ninconsistency is suspicious,\" said Bambang, saying that he would
\nappeal to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
In order to prevent journalists from being sent to jail in
\nfuture, groups of journalists and the Press Council would
\nimmediately lobby the House of Representatives (DPR) to reject
\nthe controversial draft of the Criminal Code being prepared by
\nthe government, said Bambang. If the bill is passed into law by
\nthe DPR, it will constitute a serious threat to media freedom as
\nit contains 49 articles that are harmful to freedom of expression
\nand could land journalists in jail, he said. (004)<\/p>",
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