Prosecutors insist 'Tempo' journalists committed libel
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The prosecution is holding firm to its charges that Tempo journalists, Ahmad Taufik and Teuku Iskandar Ali, defamed well- connected businessman Tomy Winata and provoked public unrest through an article carried by the weekly titled Is Tomy in Tenabang?.
In reply to defense arguments, prosecutor Robert M. Tacoy told a hearing on Thursday at the Central Jakarta District Court that the defendants had committed libel as they failed to clearly explain why they referred to Tomy as a "big scavenger" in the article, which was published in Tempo's March 3 to March 9, 2003, edition.
The prosecution also said that the defendants had published false information as Tomy, Central Jakarta Mayor Hosea Petra Lumbun and PD Pasar Jaya director Syahrir Tanjung all testified under oath that they had never been interviewed by Tempo reporters.
Tomy filed a libel complaint against the two journalists and Tempo's chief editor, Bambang Harymurti, over the article, which insinuated that Tomy was involved in the fire that gutted part of the Tanah Abang textile market on Feb. 19, 2003.
The prosecution has demanded two years in jail for each of the defendants for violating Article 14 of Law No. 1/1946 by publishing false material liable to incite public unrest, and Articles 310 and 311 of the Criminal Code on defamation.
Tempo, meanwhile, has reported Tomy and Hosea to the police, saying that they committed perjury during the trial. The magazine's arguments are backed up by tape recordings of the reporters' interviews with Tomy and Hosea, and printouts from state telecommunications provider PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, apparently showing that calls were placed by Tempo to the two men.
Concluding its replies to the defense submissions, the prosecution said that these were irrelevant as they mostly concerned matters not immediately connected with the case being heard.
"Their argument that we have wrongly charged them with publishing false material instead of publishing obscure material is merely an attempt to distract the court," Tacoy said. "The point is, the more arguments the defendants adduce, the clearer it becomes that they are guilty as charged."
The prosecution further said that it had not used Law No. 40/1999 on the press to prosecute the defendants as this law did not specifically deal with the publishing of false information or defamation.
Presiding judge Soeripto adjourned the trial until Sept. 6 to hear final defense pleas before the handing down of the verdict. On the same date, the court will also deliver its verdict on Bambang, whose case is being tried separately.