Printer gets 30 months for defaming President Soeharto

Printer gets 30 months for defaming President Soeharto

JAKARTA (JP): A printer was sentenced to two years and six
months in jail here yesterday for defaming President Soeharto by
having printed an unlicensed magazine that contained articles
tarnishing the President's image.

The panel of judges at the South Jakarta District ruled that
Andi Syahputra, 32, a printer, was guilty of defaming Soeharto by
printing Suara Independen, an underground magazine, and by
ordering the printing at his colleague's printery.

The sentence includes the time Andi has spent in police
detention. He was arrested in October with his colleague when
police raided the printery and confiscated 3,000 copies of the
magazine.

Judge Marsel Bukhori, reading the verdict, said Andi had had
time to cancel the order when the printery owner, Jazrul Zen,
warned him the magazine contained "harsh articles".

The verdict said Andi should also have discussed the
possibility of canceling the order with the men who gave him the
order. The judges identified these men only as Bimo and Santoso.

But an earlier court session heard that the two represented an
Australian-based organization, called MIPPA (Indonesian Society
for Alternative Press), run by Indonesians.

The judges said Andi did not do try to cancel the order. "He
even signed a letter saying the printery was not responsible for
the contents of the magazine, meaning he took responsibility,"
said the verdict.

The verdict was also based on the testimony of a witness from
the Ministry of Information, who said that whoever ordered the
printing of a magazine was responsible for its publication if
there was no editorial board list.

The judges said Andi deserved some leniency because he was
still young, had two small children and deserved the chance to
become a good citizen.

Andi told the court he would appeal to the High Court. (13)