(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 30 September 1998 letter to the Indonesian President, CPJ expressed alarm over a police summons issued that day [30 September local date and time] to reporter Rudy Goenawan of the magazine “Jakarta Jakarta” in connection with an article he wrote concerning the May rioting in Indonesia. Goenawan has been summoned to […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 30 September 1998 letter to the Indonesian President, CPJ
expressed alarm over a police summons issued that day [30 September local
date and time] to reporter Rudy Goenawan of the magazine “Jakarta Jakarta”
in connection with an article he wrote concerning the May rioting in
Indonesia.
Goenawan has been summoned to appear on 1st October at police headquarters
in connection with a criminal investigation into a story he wrote in issue
Number 609 of “Jakarta Jakarta”, published in July. The story cited an
allegation that a Chinese woman, known only as Vivian, was raped by a group
of men who told her, “You must be raped because you are Chinese.” According
to the story, the quote originated in Internet reports on the May riots. The
same statement was printed in a 10 June story in “The New York Times” and
was circulated in other media in Jakarta.
On 12 August, a group of 22 Muslim organizations, reportedly led by the
influential Indonesian Committee for World Muslim Solidarity (KISDI),
complained to Jakarta police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman that the
story insulted the Muslim people of Indonesia. The group urged criminal
action against Goenawan and “Jakarta Jakarta” under Article 156 of the penal
code, which prohibits defaming a religious group. This colonial era law
carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and was used frequently
during the Suharto era to prosecute journalists. By issuing a summons for
Goenawan, the police have now taken the first step toward prosecuting the
reporter.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to President Habibie:
effect on
freedom of expression
recent months towards the establishment of a free and open press, but that
laws remain on the books which can be used to prosecute journalists for
libel- and defamation-related offenses that most democratic states would
handle in civil, rather than criminal, court
Journalists (AJI) who have called upon the police not to prosecute Goenawan
and “Jakarta Jakarta” (“What is happening to Rudy Goenawan could become a
precedent that could set back the increased freedom that the press has
enjoyed since May 1998,” AJI said in a statement issued on 30 September in
Jakarta. )
Goenawan and to ask the parties to this dispute to settle their difference
in civil court
defamation statutes from the Indonesian legal code
Appeals To
His Excellency Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie
President
Office of the President
Bina Graha, Jalan Veteran No. 17
Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia
Fax: +62 21 778 182
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
