Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply troubled by the
continuing use of Indonesia's outdated criminal defamation laws to punish
journalists who criticize public figures. This disturbing trend is having
a chilling effect on local journalists and poses a direct threat to
press freedom in Indonesia. We call on you to do everything in your
power to uphold Article 28 of Indonesia's Constitution, which guarantees
press freedom, and to fight for the removal of defamation laws from
your country's Criminal Code.
CPJ is particularly concerned about the criminal defamation charges
being leveled against three journalists from Tempo magazine:
Chief Editor Bambang Harymurti, Editor Teuku Iskandar Ali, and reporter
Ahmad Taufik. The charges stem from an article published in March 2003
about well-known businessman Tomy Winata that cited allegations that
he may have stood to profit from, and been responsible for, a fire at
a textile market in February 2003. Last year, Winata filed as many as
eight separate legal cases against Tempo, including two criminal
cases.
The three journalists are currently on trial at the Central Jakarta
District Court, charged under Article 14 of the Criminal Code of spreading
false information and provoking social discord, which carries a maximum
sentence of 10 years. They also face charges under articles 310 and
311 of the Criminal Code for defamation, which carry maximum four-year
sentences. On July 26, state prosecutors demanded two-year prison sentences
for the journalists, and that they be taken into custody immediately
if convicted.
Lawyers for the journalists have protested the severity of the state's
tactics and cite several irregularities in the court proceedings, including
the selective use of witness testimony, the removal of the original
judge from the trial, and their accusations that Winata perjured himself
on the witness stand by denying that he had given an interview to Tempo
about the allegations in the article even after the magazine produced
an audio tape of the interview with what appeared to be Winata's voice.
In a related incident, the daily Koran Tempo, a member of Tempo's
publishing group, lost a legal battle with Winata in January. The newspaper
was convicted of libeling Winata in an article published in February
2003 about Winata's alleged interest in opening a casino. On January
20, the South Jakarta District Court ordered the newspaper to pay a
record-setting US$1 million in damages. This highly disproportionate
fine is being appealed, but the ruling alarmed local journalists and
international observers alike.
As Your Excellency knows well, the press laws in Indonesia's Criminal
Code date from the Dutch colonial era, when they were used to suppress
dissent. These harsh defamation laws are out of place in modern, democratic
Indonesia. They contradict the rights protected under the constitution
and serve only to cast your administration in a negative light, both
at home and in the world community.
As an independent organization dedicated to defending our colleagues
worldwide, CPJ calls on Your Excellency to defend Indonesian journalists'
hard-won reforms for press freedom. Disagreements between the press
and public figures should never be brought to criminal court; rather,
they should be resolved in civil court, with appropriate limits on damages.
The public's right to know is threatened when public figures such as
Winata can utilize criminal laws to silence their critics.
During this crucial year, as Indonesia goes to the polls to vote for
its first directly elected president, we urge you to reaffirm your commitment
to the democratic principles of press freedom by working to banish criminal
defamation laws to the history books.
Thank you for your attention to these urgent matters. We await your
reply.
Sincerely,
Ann Cooper
Executive Director
