Ariel submits appeal himself

Singer Nazriel Irham, better known as Ariel Peterpan, who was convicted and sentenced last week to three-and-a-half years in prison and fined Rp 250 million (about US$25,000) over a sex video scandal, filed an appeal on Monday.

He was reported to have filed his appeal through a Kebonwaru Prison staff member less than a week after his conviction.

Bandung District Court general affairs division head Yusuf said Ariel had asked the prison employee to type the appeal letter he later signed without involving his attorneys from O.C. Kaligis and Associates, who had most recently provided his legal support.

“It is legitimate for the convict to draft and send the appeal letter himself without involving the lawyers. He has used his rights to file an appeal over his case,” Yusuf said in Bandung on Monday.

The appeal letter, which was typed manually, was also signed by Kebonwaru Prison warden Suharman. Yusuf said his office would study the appeal letter before considering whether or not to submit it to the West Java High Court for further legal processing.

The Bandung District Court found Ariel guilty of distributing pornographic material in the form of sex videos involving himself and local artists Luna Maya and Cut Tari. The videos were widely circulated on the Internet and easily downloaded through cell phones.

Another convict in the case, Reza Rizaldy, alias Redjoy, was sentenced to two years in jail for keeping the sex video files since 2006.

Redjoy’s lawyer Yulius Setiarto said he was still waiting for confirmation from his client, who had yet to decide whether or not to file an appeal.

“I’m still waiting for confirmation from my client. There is time remaining until 5 p.m. today to file for an appeal,” Yulius told The Jakarta Post by phone.