Aberson gets 9 months for defamation

JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives member Aberson Marle Sihaloho was sentenced yesterday to nine months in jail by the Central Jakarta District Court for insulting President Soeharto.

Judge Soehardjo found Aberson, a representative of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), guilty of defaming the President in a speech during a political rally at the PDI headquarters in Central Jakarta in July last year.

The rally, called a "free speech forum," was organized by supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri to oppose a government- backed PDI congress which saw her ouster and the reappointment of Soerjadi as party chairman.

Soehardjo said Aberson had violated Articles 134 and 207 of the Criminal Code.

The verdict was less severe than the 18 months imprisonment sought by government prosecutor Y.W. Mere.

Aberson became the first House member to be convicted by a court while still serving his five-year term under New Order era. Soeharto had earlier lifted a privilege accorded to all House members from any criminal accusations to allow the investigation and subsequent trial to proceed.

Leaders of the PDI faction in the House were not available for comment yesterday.

Megawati, who attended the hearing, gave a few words of sympathy and support to Aberson, who managed to smile even after the verdict had been read.

Aberson, who did not run in the May general election, later told reporters about his nine-month jail term: "If I have to go to jail, I don't know where I will play tennis."

His chief lawyer, Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, told the court that his client would appeal.

Aberson had denied ever using the offensive words that the government prosecutor had attributed to him in his speech.

In his defense, he said the 1945 Constitution guaranteed legislators the right to criticize and express different opinions to the President's and other government institutions'.

Judge Soehardjo agreed with the prosecution that Aberson had used the offensive words in his speech. Aberson should have used more polite words, he said.

A video recording of the speech was replayed at one of the hearings, prompting Aberson and his lawyers to walk out, protesting that such recording was inadmissible as evidence.

The judge said he had not taken into consideration Aberson's defense statement in reaching his verdict because it was more a political statement than a legal defense. (05/09)