Ministry testifies in magazine case

JAKARTA (JP): A Ministry of Information witness testified in court yesterday that the editorial board of an unlicensed magazine was responsible for its publication.

Bambang Wahyudi, head of the publication permit section of the ministry, was testifying in a trial of a man charged with defaming President Soeharto by printing an unlicensed magazine, Suara Independen.

Bambang told the South Jakarta District Court that the person who ordered the printing of the magazine was responsible for its publication because it did not carry a masthead listing members of the editorial board.

Answering judges Marsel Bukhori and Hasan Wahyudin about who was in charge of printing a magazine in such circumstances, Bambang said "the man who gives the original order."

The judges and prosecutor D. Munthe asked whether he meant the person who initiated the original order or the person who took the order to the printing shop. The witness said "the latter".

Standing trial was Andi Syahputra, 32, who was arrested in October for ordering the printing of Suara Independen which was edited in Australia.

He was arrested in October after police raided the printing shop and confiscated copies of Suara Independen. The copies were submitted to the court as material evidence.

Defense lawyer Irianto asked the court about the legality of the seizure of the printed copies because the magazine was incomplete and covers and several pages had not been printed.

"There might be a masthead listing the editorial board on the unprinted pages," he said.

When the defense lawyer questioned Bambang's claim that the man responsible was the one who took the order to the printing shop, the witness answered, "the man or board that gave the first order."

Nuryanto, a print worker, who also testified yesterday, said Andi, the defendant, ordered him to make films of the dummy magazine.

"I checked the films briefly but I did not pay attention," he said.

Judge Hasan grumbled: "You knew the contents of the magazine but you still made the films."

The trial was adjourned until next week. (13)