'Tempo' reporter appeals court ruling

'Tempo' reporter appeals court ruling

JAKARTA: Tempo journalist Teuku Iskandar Ali filed an appeal
with the Supreme Court on Thursday over the Central Jakarta
District Court's ruling finding him guilty of libel.

Iskandar insisted he had never committed libel in the course
of his career as a journalist, and demanded that the Supreme
Court fully review his case using the 1999 Press Law.

The district court found Iskandar and fellow Tempo journalist
Ahmad Taufik guilty of libel over a March 2003 article about
businessman Tomy Winata.

Both were spared prison, but Tempo chief editor Bambang
Harymurti was sentenced to a year in jail over the same article.
Bambang and Taufik filed appeals with the Jakarta High Court last
week. -- JP