Printer faces four years for defaming Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): A state prosecutor asked the South Jakarta District Court yesterday to sentence a printer to four years imprisonment for defaming President Soeharto.

Prosecutor D. Munthe said Andi Syahputra, 32, had been proven guilty of defamation because he had printed the unauthorized Suara Independen magazine which contained defamatory articles.

"He has committed a blameworthy crime and it is clear that the headline to an article in the magazine degrades the President and tarnishes his image," the prosecutor said.

"It has been proven that he processed 12 films for printing 5,000 copies of the magazine," he said.

Munthe also told the court it was impossible for the defendant not to have read the insulting headline because it was on the main story in the edition.

"He also must have known the magazine was unlicensed," he said.

A letter to the defense lawyer from MIPPA (The Australian- based Indonesian Society for Alternative Press) sent several months ago, said they took full responsibility for the publication and content of the magazine.

The letter, which was shown to the judges last week, also said Andi was not to blame for printing the magazine because he was doing it just for the sake of his business.

The indictment said Andi had placed an order with the Zaiyan Putra printery to print the magazine.

Andi was arrested with the owner of the printery, Jazrul Zen, in October after police raided the shop and confiscated 3,000 copies of the magazine's October edition. Jazrul is currently under city arrest.

Munthe said Jazrul had warned the defendant of the magazine's harsh content, but Andi not only disregarded it but signed a letter, prepared by the owner of the printery, saying the printery was not responsible for the magazine's content.

Andi was charged under article 134 of the Penal Code which carries a maximum six years imprisonment. (13)