Two protesters jailed for insulting state leaders
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Two activists became the first to be convicted in the country for insulting the President and the Vice President under the administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz.
Defendants Muzakkir, alias Aceh, and Nanang Mamija, alias Junet, were sentenced on Thursday to one year in prison for stomping on the official pictures of Megawati and Hamzah and pouring spoiled rice on them during a rally held by the Populist Youth Movement (GPK) and the National Farmers Federation (STN) in front of the State Palace on June 24.
During the rally they said that the leaders had failed to improve the welfare of farmers. They also protested that they had been marginalized as more of their land had been used for industrial development.
The sentence handed down by the Central Jakarta District Court was less than the 18-month prison term earlier sought by chief prosecutor Luhut Sianturi.
According to the verdict, the defendants were found guilty of the charges because the pictures they stomped on featured Megawati and Hamzah, who wore state medallions.
"The pictures are supposed to be treated with honor just like other state symbols such as the symbol of Garuda," said presiding judge Sirande Palayukan, referring to the mythical bird on the official seal of the Republic of Indonesia.
The members of the panel of judges -- comprising Sirande, Asep Irwan Iriawan and Dwianto Budi S. -- also ruled that demonstrators should not do anything against the law, although demonstrations per se are allowed in the country as a freedom of expression.
"If a certain group insults the President and the Vice President, it would spark debate among the public about their actions that could lead to divisiveness," Judge Sirande said.
The verdict said that protests against the government could be channeled through the appropriate institutions, such as the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
A factor strengthening the sentence was the fact that both defendants did not express regret for what they had done.
Muzakkir, 21, had told the court that he "felt satisfied for pouring rotten rice on the pictures of Megawati and Hamzah because they deserved it." He said that both Megawati and Hamzah must be made to realize how hard it is for the common people to get a spoonful of rice.
Clad in a red shirt and bandanna, both defendants looked calm upon hearing the verdict.
However, 20-year-old Nanang said that they would appeal because the sentence was too harsh.
"We only criticized Mega and Hamzah. The sentence is not fair," he told reporters after the hearing.
Their lawyer, Taufik Basari, said that the sentence would become a bad precedent for the pro-democracy movement in the future.
He suspected that the government would file the same charges, against other activists in the future. The charges are based on the violation of Article 134 of the Criminal Code on the deliberate intent to insult the president or vice president that carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison.
The article is known here as pasal karet (malleable article), as in the past the New Order regime would draw upon it to suppress its political opponents.
"I think the government will use this prosecution (of the defendants) as a test case for other demonstrators in the future," Taufik said.
Currently, several other demonstrators in Aceh and Medan, North Sumatra, are being prosecuted by the police for painting an 'X' on photos of Megawati and Hamzah.