AJI sues Jakarta administration

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) filed a suit against the Jakarta administration, East Jakarta Mayoralty and the head of the mayoralty's public order office, Dapot Manihuruk, for breaking a press law by verbally abusing one of its members in public.

Edi Haryadi, a reporter for the Jakarta-based Warta Kota daily was covering a case involving a disputed plot of land on Jl. Cakung Cilincing in East Jakarta, on March 27, when he was approached by Dapot Manihuruk who launched into a verbal assault.

According to the press law, Manihuruk should have used his right to issue a formal written objection in reply to the newspaper article, which published comments made by legal experts that the public order office had abused its power by intervening in a private land dispute without following proper legal proceedings.

The Central Jakarta District Court, however, failed to start the trial on Tuesday, because none of the accused or their defense lawyers appeared. Presiding Judge Andi Samsan Nganro adjourned the first hearing for two weeks. --JP