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Press Council blasts 'lenient' Press Law in 'Obor Rakyat' case
The Press Council lamented the the power of the 1999 Press Law in the controversial Obor Rakyat fraudulent journalism case
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The Press Council lamented the the power of the 1999 Press Law in the controversial Obor Rakyat fraudulent journalism case.
On Friday, National Police chief Gen. Sutarman said on Friday that Setiyardi Budiono and Darmawan Sepriyossa, who have been named suspects, allegedly violated Article 9 of the Press Law and would be subject to a maximum penalty of Rp 100 million (US$8,426).
"This [fine] is too light. If I was the subject of slander then I would have thought that was unfair," head of the commission of complaints at the Press Council, M. Ridlo Eisy, said on Friday, as reported by tribunnews.com.
Setiyardi is an assistant to the special presidential staff in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration, while Darmawan is senior editor of online news portal inilah.com.
The National Police began their investigation after the campaign team of presidential candidate Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo filed a police report in June, accusing the two of publishing hate speech and defamation, which included naming Jokowi as a Christian of Chinese descent.
In addition, the two had broken the Press Law, as it clearly states a press company must be legally registered, have a clear address and the editorial head must also be clear.
"This is not a journalistic product. We do not want to be connected to it. It is not in the field of the press or journalism," he said.
Due to this, Ridlo said that the Setiyardi and Darmawan should have been named suspects of a general criminal offense for defamation. The Press Council has also asked for the police to charge them under the Criminal Code.
"This should be under the Criminal Code, so the police should use that. It is not a product of the press, so why are they using the press law?" he said.
Previously, the National Police said that they had not found enough evidence to charge the two suspects with defamation, as stipulated in articles 310 and 311 of the Criminal Code and have summoned Jokowi as a witness and victim in the case. (fss)
