Ni Komang Erviani , Contributor , Denpasar | Fri, 06/12/2009 2:43
PM | Bali
Dozens of local journalists, bloggers and human rights activists
staged a peaceful rally Thursday at Denpasar District Court to express
their support of Prita Mulyasari, a housewife currently on trial for
libel and defamation after writing an email criticizing Omni
International Hospital.
The rally was also aimed at voicing opposition to what the protesters
described as efforts to limit free speech.
Prita is charged with violating Article 27 (3) Law No 11/2008 on
Information and Electronic Transaction, an offense that carries a
penalty of six years imprisonment. The mother of two toddlers is also
charged with breaching Article 310 and 311 of the Criminal Code on
defamation.
Prita was detained by prosecutors in a state penitentiary for more
than 30 days until a public outcry forced them to grant her a house.
The rally was held Thursday, the day Prita was scheduled to appear at
the Tangerang District Court for the second hearing of her trial.
The protesters carried banners with the slogans, "Stop Criminalizing
Freedom of Expression," and "Revoke Article 27 *33* of the Law on
Information and Electronic Transaction", and "Free Prita Now".
Some protestors taped their mouths with strips of paper with, "Revoke
Article 27 *3* of Law on Information and Electronic Transaction"
written across them.
In a written statement read by Rofiqi Hasan, a member of the Denpasar
branch of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), the
protesters demanded the court dismiss the case and release Prita
immediately, and asked the government to revoke any articles in the
country's laws that could be used to suppress free speech.
"Those articles are a clear and present danger to the public's right
to express their opinions," Rofiqi said.
Representative of the Bali Bloggers Community (BBC) Anton Muhajir said
that Article 27 (3) Law No 11/2008 threatened the existence of
bloggers as it made them vulnerable to civil and criminal lawsuits
filed by parties that wanted to silence particular voices.
"We shouldn't let this article erode the pillars of democracy or the
freedom of expression," he warned.
The protesters were received by an official form the court, Nyoman
Sutama, who said he had no authority to revise the law and no
jurisdiction to influence the outcome of Prita's trial in Tangerang.
--
Luh De Suriyani
http://lodegen.wordpress.com/
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