'Playboy' editor cleared by court

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 04/07/2007 2:59 PM  |  Jakarta

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The South Jakarta District Court ruled Thursday that the chief editor of Playboy Indonesia had not violated indecency laws in publishing the magazine.

Presiding judge Efran Basuning said that photographs presented as evidence during the trial of editor Erwin Arnada could not be categorized as pornography.

He said the prosecution had seven days to appeal the decision.

Erwin praised the verdict as a victory for freedom of the press in the country.

Prosecutors had charged Erwin with publishing indecent materials and of profiting from the publication of these materials. They had asked the court to give the defendant a two-year jail term.

The judge also said prosecutors should have charged the defendant under the 1999 Press Freedom Law, rather than the Criminal Code.

""The country has a specific law to try cases involving the media. It is much stronger than the general law,"" the judge told the courtroom, which was packed with police officers and media people.

During the first month of the trial, which began in December, the court decided to proceed with the case after examining the validity of the charges against Erwin, including the laws used to support them.

Many legal experts and media people argue that although the Press Law carries similarly severe punishments as the Criminal Code, including prison sentences and fines, it provides authorities the necessary leeway to resolve media cases without jailing journalists.

More than 600 police officers guarded the court Thursday to prevent any violence by members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), which has demanded a harsh punishment for Erwin and whose members earlier attacked Playboy's editorial offices.

Playboy Indonesia released its first issue on April 7, 2006. Not long after this first issue came out, the magazine's offices in South Jakarta were attacked by members of the FPI, forcing its move to the island of Bali.

Six issues of the magazines have been published, with the latest appearing in February. As with the previous issues, the February edition of the magazine did not feature any nude photos. (01)

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