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Police deny being leaned on to release Arsyad
The National Police on Monday suspended the detention of Muhammad Arsyad, who stands accused of defaming President Joko âJokowiâ Widodo, but denied that the decision was due to a request from the President
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he National Police on Monday suspended the detention of Muhammad Arsyad, who stands accused of defaming President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo, but denied that the decision was due to a request from the President.
The police released Arsyad two days after his parents met Jokowi and First Lady Iriana at the State Palace, where the president said he forgave Arsyad and guaranteed that the latter would soon be released from detention.
In a press conference on Monday, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar assured journalists that the police had released Arsyad, a 24-year-old satay seller, following a thorough assessment of a request to postpone detention filed by Arsyad's parents on Friday.
'This is based entirely on a legal assessment. There has been no interference from Jokowi,' Boy said in response to reporters' questions at National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.
Separately, National Police chief Gen. Sutarman reiterated that the decision was under the police's
authority.
'Any postponement of detention is under investigators' full authority, given assurances that he will not run away, repeat the mistake or destroy evidence,' Sutarman said after a plenary Cabinet meeting on Monday.
Arsyad has been in police custody since Oct. 24 on allegations of defamation and spreading doctored pornographic pictures with the faces of Jokowi and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri in July, when Jokowi was engaged in a fierce campaign battle with Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto for the Indonesian presidency.
Arsyad's arrest has grabbed public attention, with many perceiving the move as an effort to shackle freedom of expression. Gerindra Party politician and deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Fadli Zon, defended Arsyad and hired a lawyer in an effort to bail him out.
According to Boy, Arsyad's temporary release is in line with Article 31 (1) of the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP), which stipulates that a detainee can be temporarily released on the condition that he agrees to report regularly to the police and not travel out of town or overseas.
'Upon his release, he is obliged to report to the police once a week or whenever our investigators need to obtain information from him,' Boy said.
Despite having been released on bail, Arsyad is still facing a legal case, according to Sutarman. The police chief added that Arsyad's case should be taken as an important lesson for the public on the importance of online ethics and the perils of pornographic content.
'Social media provides an efficient way to communicate, but people must not misuse it to send pornographic pictures or movies that may be accessed by children and eventually affect their psychological state,' he said.
When asked whether the investigation was aimed at reminding the public to respect the President as a state symbol, Sutarman answered: 'I believe that society must be aware of that. Who else will respect the state's symbols if not us?'
Arsyad could face 12 years in prison for violating Article 29 of the 2008 Pornography Law on the distribution of pornographic pictures, as well as Article 310 and 311 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on defamation.
Even if the legal division of Jokowi's campaign team, which first reported the case in July, agrees to abandon the case, the police retain the authority to continue the investigation, as a violation of the pornography law constitutes a regular crime.
