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Housewife tried over defamatory statements walks free
Walk free: Ervani Emi Handayani (right), 29, hugs one of a number of neighbors who have provided her with continued moral support, after a trial at the Bantul district court on Monday
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Walk free: Ervani Emi Handayani (right), 29, hugs one of a number of neighbors who have provided her with continued moral support, after a trial at the Bantul district court on Monday. In the trial, the courtâs panel of judges decided that Ervani was not guilty of making defamatory statements via her Facebook account. (JP/Slamet Susanto) (right), 29, hugs one of a number of neighbors who have provided her with continued moral support, after a trial at the Bantul district court on Monday. In the trial, the courtâs panel of judges decided that Ervani was not guilty of making defamatory statements via her Facebook account. (JP/Slamet Susanto)
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span class="inline inline-center">Walk free: Ervani Emi Handayani (right), 29, hugs one of a number of neighbors who have provided her with continued moral support, after a trial at the Bantul district court on Monday. In the trial, the court's panel of judges decided that Ervani was not guilty of making defamatory statements via her Facebook account. (JP/Slamet Susanto)
The sounds of people crying and sobbing as well as applause filled Bantul district courtroom after presiding judge Sulistyo M. Dwi Putro cleared Ervani Emi Handayani, 29, of charges relating to defamatory statements made via her Facebook account.
Sulistyo said it was not proven that Ervani's statements posted on Facebook had defiled a person.
'Charges against Ervani have not been proven. Her posted statements were just criticism against Ayas and it is hoped that this case can become a lesson learned for both parties,' the judge said before he read out his verdict at the court on Monday.
Ervani was sued for defamation after she posted comments on Facebook about Ayas, a supervisor at Jolie Jogja Jewellery, where her husband, Alfa Janto, was working. Ervani vented her anger over her husband's dismissal for refusing a job amendment. She described Ayas and other Jolie Jogja Jewellery supervisors as 'childish' and said they were unsuitable to be leaders of the company.
Sulistyo said Ervani's case did not meet elements of the definition of defamatory as charged by prosecutors.
Therefore, he said, the judging panel decided to clear Ervani of all charges based on articles 45 and 29 of the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law and articles 310 and 311 of the Criminal Code (KUHP).
In the trial, the judging panel also decided to restore Ervani's good name and ordered the return of her mobile phone, which was confiscated as evidence.
In a trial on Dec. 18, 2014, prosecutors demanded the court's panel of judges sentence Ervani to five months in jail with a probation period of 10 months. The prosecutors, led by Slamet Supriyadi, purported that Ervani had electronically spread information with defamatory substance.
Ervani's case drew the sympathy of the public, which has long criticized and urged the revocation of the draconian ITE Law. (ebf)(++++)
