Editor asks court to acquit him

Editor asks court to acquit him

JAKARTA: The chief editor of Indonesian daily newspaper Rakyat
Merdeka asked the South Jakarta District Court to acquit him of
defaming Golkar party leader Akbar Tandjung.

In response to prosecution demands for a five-month jail term
for publishing a caricature of the disgraced politician, lawyers
acting for Karim Papulungan told the court Tuesday that their
client was innocent.

The lawyers said that during the trial the prosecutors had
manipulated fact and tricked Karim into testifying that all
witness testimonies were true.

Karim did not believe that the testimonies of all witnesses
were true, especially regarding statements he had defamed and
attacked Akbar's dignity, the lawyers said.

The trial was adjourned till next week when the court is
expected to deliver its verdict.

The controversial caricature accompanied an article entitled
Akbar finished, Golkar cries tears of blood on the front page of
the paper's Jan. 8, 2002 edition.

The caricature was published after a court sentenced Akbar to
three years in jail for his role in a corruption case involving
Rp 40 billion (US$4.8 million) intended to feed the poor. Akbar
remains free pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Another of the paper's editors, Supratman, is on trial for
publishing stories deemed insulting to President Megawati
Soekarnoputri.-- Antara