Permadi formally charged with blasphemy

By R. Fadjri

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Controversial soothsayer Permadi Satrio Wiwoho was formally charged in court yesterday with blasphemy against Islam, the main religion in Indonesia.

Donny Katnezar Irdan, who is prosecuting the case for the government, told the Sleman District Court that Permadi made various statements that denigrated Prophet Muhammad during a seminar at Gadjah Mada University in April last year.

Permadi called the prophet "a dictator" during the seminar and suggested that traditional Javanese belief also encouraged the creation of an all-encompassing leader, Donny said.

Quoting one of the remarks Permadi purportedly made, Donny said: "That's why the Javanese ruler was given the titles kalifatullah, (a leader of the people, of the state and of the government), Sanopati ing ngalogo (warrior chief), and Sayidin Panotogomo (religious leader), emulating the leadership of Prophet Muhammad, including his dictatorship which was used in the interest of the small people because he firmly held to the principle of hasto broto (for justice and truth) and not hasto bondo (for the sake of wealth)."

The prosecutor said Permadi remarked during the seminar that Prophet Muhammad's Islamic government in the seventh century failed to establish a just and prosperous society because it was constantly involved in wars, and that killings continued.

"This is an insult to Islam, because Prophet Muhammad is an inseparable part of the creed of the religion," Donny said.

The prosecution charged Permadi with article 156 of the Criminal Code which said that anyone who publicly sowed enmity and hatred against a certain group, including religious community, in the Republic of Indonesia is liable for criminal charges and a maximum imprisonment of four years.

Permadi appeared in his usual black attire, this time decorated with a Indonesian Red-and-White flag on the left side of his chest, in the spirit of the 50th anniversary of independence.

The trial drew a huge crowd, estimated at about 2,000, with many people being forced to listen to the proceedings from outside the building through a loudspeaker provided by the court.

Many of Permadi's supporters, also wearing black, turned up, giving words of encouragement with chanting like "Long Live Permadi.

Critics

Fellow critics of the government, Ali Sadikin and Sri Bintang Pamungkas, and another well known soothsayer Ki Gendeng Pamungkas, were seen in the crowd.

Rather than requesting time to prepare his defense, Permadi and his team of lawyers told Judge Ismet Ilahoede yesterday that they had come well prepared.

Permadi said the accusations against him were "incomprehensible and confusing" because the prosecutor quoted only certain parts of his remarks rather than presenting them in their entirety.

He was puzzled by the prosecutor's argument that he said Prophet Muhammad was using his dictatorship for the interest of the people by the principle of justice and truth. "Does this constitute an affront to the prophet?"

His team of lawyers from the Indonesian Bar Association, led by H.M. Dault, also stressed that nothing Permadi said during the seminar was intended to denigrate the prophet.

"This issue has been blown out of proportion," Dault said, adding that the remarks had been manipulated and engineered by the prosecutors to fulfill the need of their "sponsor".

The lawyer pointed out that Permadi would never denigrate the prophet whom he highly revered.

Dault said that noted Moslem leaders Yusuf Hasyim, Ali Yafie, Dahlan Ranuwihardjo and Ridwan Saidi felt that Permadi's remarks were not blasphemous. "These religious leaders even came to visit Permadi during his detention, expressing their sympathy."

Permadi also sought a court order for his release, stressing that further detention would further compound the errors the authorities have made in prosecuting the case.

He recalled that it was he who sought police protection in February when the allegations first surfaced.

His detention at the Wirogunan correctional facility has served one good cause however. It was Permadi who alerted his lawyer last month to the presence of a nine-year-old boy in the correctional facility designed for adults.

News of the boy's detention created a public uproar that led to his release.

The boy was also among the crowd of Permadi's supporters in court yesterday.

The trial was adjourned to Monday. The judge will then rule whether or not there is a case against Permadi.