Rights group loses libel suit, fined Rp 50m
Rights group loses libel suit, fined Rp 50m
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura
The Jayapura District Court found guilty on Wednesday human
rights group the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy
(Els-ham) in West Papua for tarnishing the name of the Indonesian
Army over the shooting of three people, including two Americans,
in Timika two years ago.
The verdict was handed down less than a week after the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found that the shooting was
actually perpetrated by members of the Free Papua Movement (OPM),
and not by Indonesian soldiers.
Els-ham was ordered to publicly apologize to the Indonesian
Army, especially the Trikora Military Command, through national
print and television media and pay a fine of Rp 50 million
(US$5,263).
Eleven people were also injured in the Aug. 31 shooting, when
the bus they were aboard was ambushed by unidentified gunmen in
an area of Timika that was being explored by gold and mining
company PT Freeport Indonesia.
Els-ham reacted to the shooting by saying the Army,
particularly its Special Forces (Kopassus) soldiers -- who were
at that time guarding the gold and mining company -- were
responsible.
However, presiding judge Ebo Maulana called the accusation
baseless on Wednesday, as there had only been one witness, local
resident Decky Murib.
Decky had testified before Els-ham and police investigators
that Kopassus soldiers had ambushed the bus. He later denied his
own statement, and even told the court that Kopassus soldiers
were not responsible for the killings.
Decky conceded his earlier account before Els-ham and police
investigators was made after he was offered Rp 10 million
(US$1,053) and a trip to the U.S. by an undisclosed party, on the
condition that he testified that Kopassus soldiers were
responsible for the murders.
In the trial on Wednesday, presiding judge Ebo ordered that
first defendant John Rumbiak -- Els-ham's supervisor -- and
Johanis G. Bonay -- Els-ham's director -- publicly apologize via
Media Indonesia and Kompas dailies, as well as RCTI and TVRI
television stations.
The presiding judge also ordered them to pay a fine of Rp 50
million to the Trikora Military Command, a fraction of the Rp 50
billion the military command had demanded.
Aloysius Renwarin, the defendants' lawyer, said his party
would consider filing an appeal.
The military command initially filed a lawsuit against the six
defendants for slander with the Jayapura district court. They
were Els-ham supervisor, Els-ham's director, Koran Tempo daily
and its chief editor, and Suara Karya daily and its chief editor.
The four other defendants, aside from Els-ham's supervisor and
director, had made out-of-court settlements with the command.
The slander case that brought Els-ham to court stemmed from a
press conference made by Els-ham supervisor John Rumbiak on Sept.
25, two years ago in Jakarta.