The keen public support mounting for Prita Mulyasari in the cyber world and the media apparently contributed to her acquittal.

The Tangerang District Court on Thursday granted the request to drop all libel charges against the former Omni hospital patient, declaring all the charges were withdrawn for legal reasons.

“We accepted Prita’s objections against the charges and drop those charges because the defendant did not violate the law by sending complaints about the Omni International Hospital’s poor service and its doctors inability to diagnose her illness via email,” presiding judge Karel Topu said.

Prita had been charged of defamation based on the new electronic information law. 

Prita, the mother of two who sent emails to her friends complaining of the ill treatment she received at the hospital, was arrested based on the hospital’s charges of defamation after her complaints were spread across mailing lists and  Internet blogs.  

Prita immediately burst into tears after the panel read out the decision.

“Allah has heard and granted my prayers through the decision of the panel of judges. Allah has also heard the prayers of many people for me,” she said while leaving the courtroom with her husband Andri Nugroho.

Unprecedented support began pouring out for Prita, ranging from a Facebook group, which now has over 94,000 members, to blogs and online discussions citing the unfairness of Omni’s charges. The print and television media covered the case, exposing her lamentations of being separated from her family.

The case also swiftly became a political commodity in the midst of the upcoming presidential elections. Megawati Soekarnoputri, one of the hopefuls, visited Prita in prison, while her rival Jusuf Kalla stated his support for Prita on television.

Earlier this month, the Attorney General’s Office decided to replace Banten Prosecutors’ Office chief Dondy K Soedirman, after the office came under fire because of the people’s outcry regarding the arrest.

Despite the AGO’s quick response stating the replacement had nothing to do with the case, word was rampant that the chief was involved in Prita’s arrest. Prita’s lawyer, Syamsu Anwar, said the defense team would file a counterlawsuit against Omni for sending their client to jail.

“It’s time for us now to fight for Prita’s legal rights. We will not only file a counter-lawsuit, but will report the hospital management to the police on account of public lies.”

In response to the defendant’s lawyer’s counterstatement, prosecutors Rachmawati Utami and Riyadi demanded the court reject all requests to drop all libel charges from Prita Mulyasari’s defense lawyers, thus declaring the charges valid.

The prosecutors said they would appeal to a higher court, prompting ridicule from Prita’s supporters.

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