Legal Literacy - Executive Director of Lokataru Legal Aid and Human Rights Office, Haris Azhar, and human rights activist Fatia Maulidiyanti, were acquitted in the defamation case against Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. This verdict was read out by the Panel of Judges of the East Jakarta District Court on Monday, January 8, 2024.
In its verdict, the Panel of Judges stated that Haris and Fatia were not proven legally and convincingly guilty of committing the crime of defamation as per Article 27 paragraph 3 jo Article 45 paragraph 3 of the Law on Information and Electronic Transactions (UU ITE) jo Article 55 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code.
The Panel of Judges assessed that Haris and Fatia's conversation in the podcast video entitled "There is Lord Luhut behind the economic-military ops relationship in Intan Jaya!! There's also a BIN General1! >NgeHAMtam" did not fall into the category of insult and defamation. The conversation was a review, commentary, opinion analysis, and assessment of the results of a quick study conducted by a coalition of civil society.
In addition, the Panel of Judges also assessed that the use of the word "lord" in the podcast video was not intended to insult Luhut, but rather to refer to Luhut's status as a state official.
This decision was welcomed by human rights activists. They assessed that this decision is a victory for freedom of expression in Indonesia.
"This is a victory for freedom of expression in Indonesia," said Haris Azhar. "This decision shows that the government should not use the ITE Law to silence criticism of the government."
We are pleased that the Panel of Judges has seen that our conversation does not fall into the category of insult and defamation," said Fatia Maulidiyanti. "We will continue to fight to defend the rights of civil society in Indonesia."
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