Wed, 17 Jul 1996

Minister found guilty of slander

JAKARTA (JP): A German court has found Indonesian Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie guilty of slanderous remarks and ordered him to retract his claim that demonstrators against President Soeharto in the east German town of Dresden last year were paid US$50 each.

The Buxtehude State Court in Germany in their June decision said Habibie must retract and never repeat such a slanderous remark. The court injunction for Habibie to retract his comment was stated in court letter No. 31 C 509/96.

A group of activists calling themselves Connie e.V. in January filed a libel suit against Habibie. The suit was filed by the group's lawyer, Matthias Zieger, in the town of Stade where Habibie owns a mansion.

Habibie had remarked that the demonstrators in Dresden were paid US$50 by a certain group. He also commented that certain demonstrators had to be paid an extra beer because they were demonstrating at night.

President Soeharto was met by a fiery demonstration during his visit to Dresden in April 1995.

According to Zieger, Habibie could be fined up to 500,000 DM or jailed for six months if he repeats the slanderous comment.

Habibie has two weeks to appeal the court decision. He is also required to pay court fees. (mds)