Responding to Reports Filed with Polda Metro, Hotman Paris: Don't Worry Lah

Prominent lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea has responded casually to a complaint filed by the Online Journalists Association with Polda Metro Jaya over alleged defamation. Polda Metro Jaya has reportedly received two reports against Hotman, filed by the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) and Independent Online Media (MIO) Indonesia. “Don’t worry lah, don’t worry,” Hotman said during a press conference on Thursday (23/7). Hotman stressed that he is cooperative and ready to comply with a police summons if clarification is required. “Of course I will come if summoned. I am law-abiding, so there is no problem,” Hotman said. Hotman explained that the matter stemmed from a dynamic doorstop session with several media personnel and representatives from other institutions regarding a corruption and money laundering case involving former Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes, Febrie Adriansyah. He stated that his remarks were spontaneous, arising from a dynamic discussion process, and were not intended as an insult. He emphasised that the remarks were directed at an individual in the context of a personal dialogue, thus falling under the category of a complaint-based offence rather than a press offence. “When I said ‘do you understand or not’, who does ‘you’ refer to? An individual. I never insulted the press institution. And it was not a press conference, it was a doorstop,” Hotman asserted. Hotman further mentioned that the person he was speaking with at the time did not initially introduce himself as a member of the media. It was only after the interaction that it became known the individual was from a non-governmental organisation. Hotman stressed that he respects the journalism profession and press institutions, and denied accusations of insulting journalist organisations. “Because my sentence used ‘you’, meaning an individual. The press council was never invited there because it was a doorstop. We never knew and it was not certain that the person was a member. Because he was from an NGO who asked the question. So why did I say ‘you’? I explained it over and over and he didn’t get it. The proper response would have been ‘why don’t you understand?’ But I replied, ‘do you have a brain or not?’ That was a question because he really did not want to understand,” he said.