Prita to file for case review, lawyer

Slamet Yuwono, lawyer for Prita Mulyasari, said his client would file for a review of the Supreme Court’s criminal verdict on Prita’s case.

“The proposal for the review has been handed over by OC Kaligis [another lawyer representing Prita] on Saturday as her defense team,” Slamet said Sunday, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The Supreme Court announced Friday that it had sentenced Prita to six months’ imprisonment for distributing a reportedly slanderous email that might have conveyed negative sentiments against a private hospital.

The case started in August 2008 when Prita sent an email to relatives and friends about the poor medical treatment and customer service she received from Omni International hospital in Tangerang, Banten. The email went viral as recipients kept forwarding it to various mailing lists and forums.

The hospital filed both civil and criminal lawsuits against her a month later. The Tangerang Prosecutor’s Office charged her under the Criminal Code and the law on information and electronic transactions, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

The Tangerang District Court ruled in favor of the hospital in May 2009 regarding the civil lawsuit. The ruling required Prita to pay around Rp 340 million (US$40,120) to the hospital.

At this time, Prita’s plight started garnering public sympathy. The outburst of public support through mailing lists and Facebook led to the “Coins for Prita” movement to help her pay the damages through donations. The public managed to collect more than Rp 800 million, which Prita gave to a non-profit cause.

Under public scrutiny, the Tangerang District Court acquitted Prita of all criminal charges in June last year, while the civil lawsuit went on to the Banten High Court. The high court ruled in favor of the hospital, although decreasing the fine from Rp 340 million to Rp 204 million. Prita then lodged an appeal to the Supreme Court, and her latest legal attempt was challenged by the hospital, with its demand for Rp 2 billion on appeal, which the court turned down last October.

Slamet said one of the reasons for the review was the Supreme Court’s verdict in October that turned down the hospital’s demand for Rp 2 billion.

“Do not separate the civil and criminal case, because both cases have the exact same subject,” said Slamet.