Activist gets six months in jail for insulting President Megawati
Activist gets six months in jail for insulting President Megawati
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh
The Banda Aceh District Court sentenced woman activist Raihana
Diani on Tuesday to six months in prison for insulting President
Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz during a
rally last year.
Police have detained the 20-year-old activist since July 2002
after her arrest for painting a red X on the pictures of the
country's leaders. Raihana will only need to serve 15 more days
to complete her sentence.
Prosecutors had demanded eight months.
"I am innocent, what I did was an act of protest and not to
insult the President," Raihana told the court.
Outside the courtroom, dozens of activists staged a rally in
support of Raihana, calling for a just verdict.
Her lawyer Rufriadi of the Aceh Legal Aid Institute called the
verdict an injustice.
"From the start we said that the act was Raihana's
expression", he said, explaining that it was how the people
exercised control over the government of Mega and Hamzah" he told
The Jakarta Post.
During the demonstration, Raihani had demanded Megawati and
Hamzah step down and for a people's government to be elected.
"The verdict shows that the law sides with those in power,"
said Rufriadi.
A court in Jakarta sentenced two demonstrators to one year in
prison last October after they were caught stomping on the
official portraits of Megawati and Hamzah.
The two activists and Raihani were charged with violating
Article 134 of the Criminal Code on the deliberate intent to
insult the president or vice president. The crime carries a
maximum penalty of six years in prison.
Known as a "flexible" article, the clause was often used under
President Soeharto's regime to suppress critics.
Although demonstrations were rampant during the two subsequent
presidencies of B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid, none of them
had invoked the article to use against protesters or political
opponents.
Critics have said Megawati's willingness to use the article
indicates her inability to deal with criticism.