'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