(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders urges Indonesia’s Supreme Court to act logically and to quickly quash a September 2007 decision ordering “Time” magazine to pay the now deceased former dictator Suharto US$106 million in damages. “Last year’s ruling in favour of Suharto has undermined the ability of the courts to defend press freedom and this […]
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders urges Indonesia’s Supreme Court to act logically and to quickly quash a September 2007 decision ordering “Time” magazine to pay the now deceased former dictator Suharto US$106 million in damages. “Last year’s ruling in favour of Suharto has undermined the ability of the courts to defend press freedom and this must be restored as quickly as possible,” the organisation said.
Mulya Lubis, a “Time” magazine lawyer, filed a request to the supreme court to overturn the ruling on 20 February 2008. “This is a golden opportunity for the Supreme Court to restore free press as the basic tenet of the rule of law and democracy,” Lubis said. If the appeal fails, “Time” has no other recourse.
