Soeharto vs 'Time' must be tried in New York: Lawyer
Soeharto vs 'Time' must be tried in New York: Lawyer
JAKARTA (JP): The lawyer for the New York-based magazine Time Todung Mulya Lubis said on Thursday that the Central Jakarta District Court had no authority to hear a US$27 billion (Rp 289 trillion) defamation civil lawsuit lodged by former Indonesian president Soeharto.
"The magazine's main office is in New York. It is therefore the authority of a New York state court to hear the case, not the Central Jakarta District Court," Todung told a hearing in a packed court room of the district court on Thursday.
Former president Soeharto filed a civil lawsuit against Time magazine last July, in response to a cover story published in the magazine's May 24 edition alleging that Soeharto and his family had amassed a $15 billion fortune during his 32-year reign.
Six of Soeharto's lawyers, including Juan Felix Tampubolon, Indriyanto Seno Adji and Denny Kailimang were present at Thursday's trial.
Prior to Todung's defense statement, Soeharto's lawyers read out the former president's lawsuit.
"The magazine has disseminated false reports which have damaged our client's good name," lawyer Juan said while reading the lawsuit.
"Our client is demanding that the magazine restores his good name by issuing an article of clarification and a public apology through several local and foreign media," he said.
Juan mentioned that these media should include Time, three local publications Kompas, Republika, Tempo and all six local TV channels.
The hearing was temporarily halted when Lelyana Santosa, a member of the Time's team of defense lawyers, read the team's defense statement.
Lelyana told the judges that Time had done nothing wrong when it published the cover story.
"Time ran the story when the investigation into Soeharto's alleged corruption was underway," she said.
"The government's decision to stop the investigation into Soeharto for lack of evidence does not mean that Soeharto has been cleared of all the charges, as the investigation could be reopened if new evidence is found," she added.
Juan interrupted, saying that the explanation was irrelevant to the case.
Presiding judge Sihol Sitompul, who is also chairman of the Central Jakarta District Court, ignored Juan's objection and asked the Time's lawyers to proceed with their defense statement.
Earlier, Soeharto's lawyers requested that the judges order Time's lawyers to present material evidence that Soeharto had amassed the state's money.
Judge Sihol endorsed the request and ordered Time's lawyers to bring the evidence next Monday.
The lawsuit named Time Inc. Asia, based in Hong Kong, as the first defendant. Also named were Time Asia editor-in-chief Donald Morrison, Hong Kong bureau chief John Colmey, and reporters David Liebhold, Lisa Rose Weaver, Zamira Lubis and Jason Tedjasukmana. The last two defendants are Jakarta residents.
Sihol adjourned the trial until Oct. 28 to hear the Soeharto lawyers' counter-defense statement.
Sihol asked the plaintiff's lawyers to focus their arguments on those that the Central Jakarta District Court had the authority to try. (asa)