(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 6 August 2004 ARTICLE 19 press release: INDONESIAN DEFAMATION LAW EXCESSIVELY HARSH ARTICLE 19 has published a Memorandum analysing the Indonesia criminal and civil defamation provisions (1). As the Memorandum makes clear, Indonesian defamation law is in need of urgent and far-reaching reform. This has been highlighted by […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 6 August 2004 ARTICLE 19 press release:
INDONESIAN DEFAMATION LAW EXCESSIVELY HARSH
ARTICLE 19 has published a Memorandum analysing the Indonesia criminal and civil defamation provisions (1). As the Memorandum makes clear, Indonesian defamation law is in need of urgent and far-reaching reform. This has been highlighted by a series of cases where extremely harsh penalties have been imposed on defendants, including against some very professional publications who were writing about matters of great public interest.
A serious concern with Indonesian defamation law is that harsh criminal penalties are still available. Our Memorandum identifies a number of other serious concerns with both the criminal and civil defamation laws, including the following:
– the defences to a charge of defamation are woefully inadequate; in particular, truth is a defence in only limited circumstances, there is very limited special recognition of the status of opinions and strict liability applies to false statements, regardless of the circumstances;
– the criminal defamation provisions provide extended protection for certain senior public officials, including the President, Vice-President and heads of friendly States, as well as for objects, such as public bodies and national flags; and
– both the criminal and civil defamation laws envisage extremely harsh penalties, including long periods of imprisonment and apparently unlimited damage awards.
ARTICLE 19 urges the Indonesian authorities to consider an urgent review of these laws with a view to repealing the criminal defamation laws and reforming the civil defamation laws to bring them into line with international standards. We also urge the courts in Indonesia to use the discretion available to them to ensure that penalties for defamation are strictly proportionate to the harm done, taking into account the importance of freedom of expression in a democracy.
ENDS
1. The Memorandum is available on the ARTICLE 19 website at: http://www.article19.org/docimages/1822.doc
