Council member Agus Sudibyo told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the ruling could set a precedent for similar cases in the future.

The Supreme Court in July 2009 granted an appeal lodged by prosecutors and sentenced Erwin to two years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty of public indecency.

Public indecency is regulated in the Criminal Code.

The South Jakarta District Court had cleared Erwin of charges in 2007, saying prosecutors should have charged him with articles in the 1999 Press Freedom Law.

Agus said that with the Supreme Court ruling, “if in future there are people who dislike or feel threatened by media coverage they will be able to use the Criminal Code or other laws other than the press law.”

The Press Council, he said, slammed the Supreme Court ruling because it was issued without taking the press law into consideration, when it was very clear that the now-defunct Playboy magazine was a product of journalism.

The local edition of the US-based magazine sparked controversy when it was first launched in 2006.

Only a week after the first edition was published, members of the hard-line Islam Defenders Front (FPI) attacked the Playboy Indonesia editorial office in South Jakarta, injuring two policemen as they pelted the building with rocks, shattering windows and terrifying tenants.

FPI members then reported the magazine, which contained no nudity, to police for allegedly violating public indecency laws.

The South Jakarta District Court ruled that Erwin had not violated the law by publishing the magazine. Presiding judge Efran Basuning said photographs presented as evidence during Erwin’s trial could not be categorized as pornography.

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

Rudy Satrio, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia, said he supported the ruling made by the lower court.

“If [the magazine] indeed contained material that violated public decency or pornography [laws], the publisher should be punished, not the individuals.

“The press law should have been applied,” Rudy told the Post.

He also said the Supreme Court had “made a mistake” by sentencing (Playboy’s) chief editor to imprisonment.

“The press law regulates violations committed by the press as a company while the Criminal Code regulates crimes committed by individuals. The Supreme Court should draw a line there,” he said, adding that Erwin was only a representative of a company that published the magazine.

The Supreme Court justice presiding over the case, Mansur Kartayasa, said he planned to clarify the legal reasoning behind the verdict today. Court spokesman Hatta Ali told the Post on Thursday that he was unable to comment on the matter.

South Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday it had received a copy of the ruling and would arrest Erwin immediately.

Office chief Muhammad Yusuf said he had sent Erwin a summons, but that the letter had not reached Erwin.

“Our data shows that he lives in Bendungan Hilir, but when we sent the letter there, the neighborhood chief said [Erwin] had moved.”

Yusuf said his office would issue three summons before declaring Erwin a fugitive.

According to Erwin’s Twitter account, @erwinarnanda, he is still in Jakarta.

“One thing is for sure. I am not running away,” he said in one of his tweets on Thursday.

Erwin said he would stand up for Playboy Indonesia, which he says was not a pornographic publication.

The exclusive interviews in the magazine had been with prominent figures including novelist Pra-moedya Ananta Toer, writer Goenawan Mohamad and artist Butet Kartaredjasa, he said.

“Would they have been willing to be interviewed exclusively had Playboy Indonesia been a pornographic magazine?” he said.

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