Once the talk of the country and the darling of media attention, housewife and mother of two, Prita Mulyasari, is currently in court facing a six-month jail sentence for libel against doctors from Omni International Hospital.
Prosecutors Wednesday demanded that Prita serve a six-month sentence.
"Based on the facts that were disclosed during the trial, the defendant has been proven guilty of spreading libellous information against Dr. Hengky Gosal and Dr. Grace Hilza Yarmen Nalen," prosecutor Riyadi told the hearing at Tangerang District Court.
The prosecutors claimed that Prita's email sent to her friends had damaged public trust in those doctors and the hospital.
Prosecutors charged the defendant with violating Article 310 and 311 of the Criminal Code on defamation, and Article 27 of the law on electronic information transaction, which carries a maximum six-year sentence.
Riyadi cited two damning factors for Prita.
He said the copy of Prita's email initially sent to 20 other email addresses would remain on the Internet permanently.
He also said that Prita had failed to come to an amicable settlement in her feud with the doctors, despite mediation efforts made by South Tangerang Mayor M. Sholeh and the management of Omni hospital.
Mitigating factors for Prita were that she had shown good manners during the trial proceedings; she has no prior convictions and is responsible for two children.
Prita said she did not accept the demands of the prosecutors.
She cited several experts who had supported her during the previous testimonies by saying that no criminal act had been breached by her email complaint.
"I regret the prosecutors' demands and I will leave it all up to my lawyers to prepare the defense statement," she said.
Slamet Yuwono, one of Prita's lawyers, said Prita reserved the right to lodge a complaint about the hospital's poor service because she was a patient of the hospital.
"I think the prosecutors were exaggerating by saying that Prita has no right to share her complaints about the hospital's service on the Internet," he said.
Presiding judge Arthur Hangewa postponed the hearing until Dec. 2 to hear the defendant's defense statement.
Prita was treated at Omni hospital between Aug. 7 and 12 last year, where, after blood tests, doctors said she had to be admitted. As her condition worsened, Prita sought a second opinion at Bintaro International Hospital and later sent an email to her friends. The letter was later posted on the Internet and drew complaints from the management of Omni hospital.
Prita's case drew public attention after the Internet community discovered prosecutors had used a defamation article in a law on electronic information to detain Prita for three weeks. Prita's case also became a political commodity during the presidential election as all three candidates - Megawati Soekarnoputri, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla - voiced their support for Prita, until she was released from jail.
However, since her release, support from the political and Internet community has waned.
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