Court set to decide on Soeharto vs 'Time' soon
Court set to decide on Soeharto vs 'Time' soon
JAKARTA (JP): After a series of hearings, lawyers from both
parties in the Soeharto versus Time case handed over their
conclusions to the judges on Tuesday.
Each of them stood by their previous positions.
As in the earlier hearings, Time lawyers insisted that the May
24, 1999 cover story in the New York-based weekly did not defame
the country's former president.
On the other side, Soeharto's lawyers asserted that the
magazine ran a groundless report involving their client, but was
still unable to come up with evidence that would substantiate
their claim.
After hearing conclusions from the two disputing parties, the
panel of judges -- presided over by judge Sihol Sitompul -- told
the courtroom at the Central Jakarta District Court that they
would read the verdict on the case on June 6.
Todung Mulya Lubis, one of Time's lawyers, told reporters
after the hearing that, "Four expert witnesses have testified
that the story was written within the universal standards of
journalism. So there's nothing defamatory or slanderous about the
report.
"Therefore, the lawsuit was baseless. Besides, the fact that
Soeharto is now under city arrest only strengthens the
allegations of collusion, corruption and nepotism (KKN)," Todung
added.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Assegaff, a lawyer for the former
strongman, said he was optimistic about wining the legal battle.
"Since the first trial session, Time could not show proof that
there had been illegal money transfers from a Swiss bank to
several banks in Austria," he said.
"In our opinion, any and all articles in a journalistic
periodical should represent the truth. And Time was unable to
prove that the transfer of money ever took place," he added.
Along with Assegaf and Todung, also present in the court was
Todung's partner, Lelyana Santosa, from the law firm Lubis,
Santosa & Maulana.
Assegaf mocked Todung's conclusion report, which is entitled
The free press is on trial.
"Well, ours has yet to be named, but I'm thinking of calling
it 'Trial by the press'. Because it's what this trial is all
about," the senior lawyer said.
Responding to Assegaf's comment, Todung said it was nonsense.
"A trial is conducted by a court of law, not by the media. We
decided to give our report The free press is on trial title
because the defendant in this case is not only Time magazine but
freedom of the press in general," he said.
Soeharto filed the lawsuit against the magazine in July last
year.
He is demanding that the magazine pay him Rp 189 trillion
(US$27 billion) in damages for suggesting in its articles that he
and his family amassed a $15 billion fortune during his 32-year
reign. (09)