IFJ reiterates calls for defamation reform in response to journalist sentenced to jail
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is outraged over the conviction and sentencing of Risang Bima Wijaya, former general manager of the Yogyakarta daily Radar Jogja on criminal defamation charges.
“This latest conviction is further proof of the need for reform of Indonesia’s criminal code,” said IFJ President Christopher Warren today.
“The decision is demonstrative of a disturbing trend of the Indonesian legal system systematically dismantling press freedoms hard won since the darkest days of Soeharto’s regime,” said Warren.
On 22 December 2004 Wijaya was found guilty of publishing libellous articles about the general manager of Kedaulatan Rakyat daily newspaper. A judge in a Yogyakarta district court in central Java found Wijaya guilty of libel and sentenced him to nine months’ imprisonment. Wijaya is free pending his appeal.
This latest conviction follows a series of defamation cases trying journalists using the criminal code in Indonesia over the past 12 months. The previous conviction under criminal defamation laws is that of Bambang Harymurti, chief editor of Tempo magazine, who on 16 September 2004 was convicted of libel and sentenced to one year in prison. He is free pending appeal to the Supreme Court.
The IFJ, the global organisation representing over 500,000 journalists worldwide, has consistently called on the Government of Indonesia to amend the law so that libel and defamation can only be tried as civil matters. The IFJ has also called on the removal of the crimes of insulting the president or vice president. Furthermore, the IFJ has called on the defamation and libel laws to be reviewed to ensure that there is an appropriate and rational relationship between the relevant harm and the amount of damages that can be awarded.
“It is a sad day for press freedom when any journalist is jailed for defamation,” said Warren.
The IFJ represents more than 500,000 journalists in more than 100 countries
For more information please contact Christopher Warren +61 (0) 411 757 668 or
Click here to view media release online: http://ifg-asia.sitesuite.ws/page/indonesia050105.html
