Police take over investigation of Permadi
Police take over investigation of Permadi
JAKARTA (JP): Police took over the investigation of psychic
Permadi Satrio Wiwoho, who allegedly insulted Islam, from the
Attorney General's Office yesterday.
Attorney General spokesman Basrief Arief said that the office
had found evidence that Permadi degraded Islam in various remarks
and statements he made over the past year.
Basrief said Permadi, who had been in custody at the Attorney
General's Office since Sunday, was transferred yesterday to the
National Police headquarters.
Investigators are likely to use article 156a on blasphemy of
the Criminal Code, he added.
If found guilty, Permadi faces a maximum of five years
imprisonment under the article.
Since blasphemy is a general crime, the Attorney General's
Office decided to turn over the investigation to the police,
Basrief said.
Permadi became the target of Moslem furor over the weekend
following allegations that he called Prophet Muhammad a dictator
during a seminar at the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta in
March last year.
Permadi has denied the accusations and said that his remarks
had been manipulated and taken out of context.
But with the mounting protest calling for his prosecution and
a vigilante group of Moslems youths staking out his Jakarta
residence, Permadi went to the authorities on Sunday.
National Police chief Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro yesterday
confirmed that Permadi volunteered to come to the police.
"Permadi signed a statement saying that his presence at the
police headquarters was not because he was arrested but because
he was seeking police protection," Banurusman told Commission III
of the House of Representatives yesterday.
Banurusman also urged the public, particularly the Moslem
community, to be calm and to leave everything to the police.
He said the police would also pursue the case based on article
156a of the Criminal Code.
The blasphemy article was used against Arswendo Atmowiloto,
former editor of the banned Monitor tabloid, five years ago.
Arswendo, who faced even stronger Moslem backlash, was sentenced
the maximum five years.
Arswendo was found guilty of blasphemy by a Jakarta court for
dishonoring Islam by publishing the results of a controversial
popularity poll.
The poll, published by the magazine, put Prophet Muhammad in
11th place, below President Soeharto who was ranked first, Moslem
preacher Zainuddin M.Z. (in fifth place), singer Iwan Fals
(fourth) and Arswendo himself (10th).
Chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas Council Hasan Basri, one of
the first Moslem leaders to condemn Permadi last weekend, said
the soothsayer must face the law even if he repented.
"Saying sorry is not enough, there are rules to follow," Hasan
was quoted by Antara as saying on Monday.
Hasan said he had read the transcript of Permadi's statement
in the seminar. "The contents of the statement was horrifying."
Permadi's statement revealed that he knew nothing about
Prophet Muhammad, or the history of Islam, he said.
Hasan said the council will not prolong the controversy
against Permadi since the government was dealing with the case.
He denied suggestions that council had been used by the
government to strike at Permadi.
The government questioned Permadi on two occasions last week
about his January prediction that there would be political
turbulence in Indonesia this year.
Government and military officials said his remarks could have
a destabilizing effect on the nation. The government however has
not pressed charges against Permadi on this question.
A criminal law expert, Prof. Muladi from Diponegoro University
in Semarang, Central Java, urged a comprehensive, unbiased
investigation of Permadi.
"Permadi cannot be charged for blasphemy just by referring to
the tape-recorded statement, there must be other evidence,"
Muladi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. (imn/bsr/har)