Minister found guilty of slander<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A German court has found Indonesian Minister of
\nResearch and Technology B.J. Habibie guilty of slanderous remarks
\nand ordered him to retract his claim that demonstrators against
\nPresident Soeharto in the east German town of Dresden last year
\nwere paid US$50 each.<\/p>\n
The Buxtehude State Court in Germany in their June decision
\nsaid Habibie must retract and never repeat such a slanderous
\nremark. The court injunction for Habibie to retract his comment
\nwas stated in court letter No. 31 C 509\/96.<\/p>\n
A group of activists calling themselves Connie e.V. in January
\nfiled a libel suit against Habibie. The suit was filed by the
\ngroup's lawyer, Matthias Zieger, in the town of Stade where
\nHabibie owns a mansion.<\/p>\n
Habibie had remarked that the demonstrators in Dresden were
\npaid US$50 by a certain group. He also commented that certain
\ndemonstrators had to be paid an extra beer because they were
\ndemonstrating at night.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto was met by a fiery demonstration during his
\nvisit to Dresden in April 1995.<\/p>\n
According to Zieger, Habibie could be fined up to 500,000 DM
\nor jailed for six months if he repeats the slanderous comment.<\/p>\n
Habibie has two weeks to appeal the court decision. He is also
\nrequired to pay court fees. (mds)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-found-guilty-of-slander-1447893297",
"image": ""
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