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day after housewife Prita Mulyasari was acquitted by the court, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) said Friday it would officially replace Dondy Kumando Soedirman, head of the Banten Prosecutor's Office.

"The transfer will occur on Monday at the AGO building in Jakarta," Mustaqim, a spokesman from the prosecutor's office, told tempointeraktif.com on Friday.

Dondy will be transferred to a staff position at the AGO and his position will be filled by Abdul Wahab Hasibuan, who is the current deputy chief of the South Sumatra Prosecutor's Office.

Banten prosecutors attracted criticism following the detention of Prita Mulyasari prior to her libel trial last month. Prita was charged with defaming Omni International Hospital in Tangerang after posting complaints on the Internet about the hospital's poor service.

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji admitted that Banten prosecutors had been "unprofessional" in their handling of the case by adding an article to Prita's file that allowed her to be detained.

Particular attention was drawn to the use of Article 27 from the Information and Electronic Transaction Law.

If she was found guilty of violating that law, she could have faced a 6-year jail term and a fine of up to Rp 1 billion.

Hendarman ordered the investigation of several prosecutors, including Dondy, as public pressure continued to mount.

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granted the request to drop all libel charges against the former Omni hospital patient, declaring all charges were withdrawn for legal reasons.

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

Prita's case drew unprecedented public support, 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 grief at being separated from her family.

Observers welcomed her acquittal Friday, agreeing the case highlighted the crucial role of the media and the public in monitoring legal processes.

They said that Prita's acquittal was also a victory for the public against injustice and corrupt officials.

"This case should be seen as a warning to prosecutors and judges to use the law professionally," Muji Kartika Rahayu, an activist from the National Law Reform Consortium, told Antara news agency.

Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation activist Hermawanto said that Prita's acquittal set a precedent for future cases and that

Article 27 of the Information and Electronic Transaction Law could not be applied at will by prosecutors in defamation cases.

"It's important because we should wipe out articles that can be abused by the state against its citizens," he said.

The case, however, has swiftly become a political commodity amid the upcoming presidential election. Megawati Soekarnoputri, visited Prita in prison, while her rival Jusuf Kalla stated his support for Prita on national television.

Dondy, meanwhile, defended himself, saying that he had done his job according to the law, and claimed the case had become too "politicized".