Controversial author acquitted of all charges

JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta District Court acquitted on Tuesday the controversial author Wimanjaya K. Liotohe, who had been charged with insulting then president Soeharto with his book Prima Dosa (Prime Sins) published in late 1993.

The verdict, read by presiding judge Muchtar Ritonga, was in accordance with the prosecutor's earlier request to free the defendant of all charges. The prosecutor's stance was based on the fact that the Attorney General's Office had revoked its ban on the book's circulation in 1998.

"... there are no legal grounds for continuing with the case," Ritonga said, adding that the books were published when there was no freedom of expression under former president Soeharto.

Soeharto had publicly announced that the book was a personal affront to him as it suggested that he masterminded the coup attempt against president Sukarno in 1965. The Attorney General's Office officially banned the book on Jan. 25, 1994, two days after the announcement.

Former Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) chairman, the late Hasan Basri, said that the book insulted not only Soeharto, but the Muslim community as well. He called on the government to try the 67-year-old evangelist author and not let him off because of his reported mental problems.

Wimanjaya's two other books Prima Duka (Prime Sorrows) and Prima Dusta (Prime Lies), were also banned in November 1997. The ban was later revoked.

"Prima Dosa describes all the sins Soeharto had committed as president. Prima Dusta recounts all Soeharto's lies about the order issued by former president Sukarno and known as supersemar which is said to have given authority to Soeharto to take over leadership of the state on Mar. 11, 1966, while Prima Duka describes the nationwide murders committed by Soeharto through his military forces after the alleged 1965 coup attempt," Wimanjaya told the Post after the hearing.

In Jan. 1998, Wimanjaya, who hails from Sangir Talaud, North Sulawesi, went on trial for allegedly insulting then president Soeharto. The charges carry a maximum punishment of six years in jail.

A month after President Soeharto's downfall in May, 1998, the court put the case on hold without issuing any ruling. It was not until earlier this month that the trial was reopened with prosecutor Yudi Sutoto's requesting that the court set aside the indictment against the defendant.

"I am happy with the verdict, which reflects that there is now legal certainty in the country," Wimanjaya said. (01)