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University of Indonesia information technology (IT) expert testified that while defendant Prita Mulyasari had written a complaint email about a hospital's poor service, she was not responsible for its widespread circulation.

Prosecutors Riyadi and Rachmawati Utami asked IT lecturer Wahyu Catur Wibowo to testify at the Tangerang district court against Prita, a mother of two who is currently standing trial for allegedly defaming Omni International Hospital in an email that was widely circulated.

Wahyu confirmed Prita wrote the email and later forwarded it to some friends.

"Everyone who received the email then forwarded it on to their friends. The message became a chain email circulated to countless other people," he said.

Prita did nothing wrong when she sent the email, providing it was based on accurate facts, Wahyu said.

"Whoever wrote the email is likely to face court proceedings if the information is found to be incorrect."

Prosecutor Riyadi said the IT expert's statement could be used against the defendant.

"We consider the IT expert's testimony as good input that will help us determine the punishment later on," he said.

On the other hand, Prita's defense team, represented by lawyer Slamet Juwono, said the IT expert's testimony sided with their client.

"We are very satisfied with the testimonies and are sure the panel of judges will refer to the IT expert's explanation when making the ruling," he said.

Presiding Judge Arthur Hangewa adjourned the hearing until next week. The testimonies of the Omni doctor who informed Prita about her medical progress, a criminal and an IT expert will be heard next week.

Prita sought treatment at Omni Hospital in August last year, where she had some blood samples taken. Her first results indicated the thrombocyte count in her blood was 27,000, far below the normal 200,000. The doctors said she had to be hospitalized. Later on, the hospital revised the count to 181,000, saying the first test was invalid.

Prita said she did not get better and left Omni to seek treatment at another hospital. She later sent an email to several friends, describing her experience at Omni Hospital.

Prita's case received significant media attention after the Internet community found out prosecutors had used a defamation article in a law on electronics information and transactions (ITE) to detain Prita, a mother to two young children.

Members of the social networking site Facebook formed a group called "Support Prita Mulyasari, who is detained for having written an email" managed to garner support for Prita from hundreds of thousands of members within days.

The public's outrage prompted candidates campaigning for the presidential election to take a stand on Prita's case. All three - Megawati Soekarnoputri, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla - voiced their support for Prita, until she was released from jail.