Freedom of expression pressed

Freedom of expression pressed

The International Freedom to Publish Committee of the
Association of American Publishers strongly condemns the verdict
and sentence handed down to Andi Syahputra, printer of the
underground magazine Suara Independen (Voice of Independence),
and calls on the government of Indonesia to cease its assault on
free expression. On April 7, Syahputra was convicted in Jakarta
District Court of insulting the President and was sentenced to 30
months in prison. The prosecutor had requested four years.

Syahputra was arrested on the night of Oct. 28, 1996, when
police confiscated 3,000 copies of the latest issue of the
magazine. The prosecution later accused him of developing 12 film
negatives that contained material for the magazine, including
several articles that the government found offensive. It also
included an article about a challenge mounted to Soeharto by
opposition politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas (who was later
arrested for subversion). The article suggested that it was time
for a new political party. A third article reported the results
of a survey on the causes of the July 1996 riots in Jakarta.

Syahputra was accused of having ordered the printing of the
magazine from the negatives at a cost of Rp 800,000 (about
US$400). In convicting him, the judge said that Syahputra had
deliberately insulted the President because he knew the contents
of the articles, and therefore could have canceled its printing.
Syahputra took full responsibility for the publication.

JERI LABER

New York