Minister found guilty of slander

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)