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Relief as court acquits activists in Luhut’s defamation case
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Two activists hold a protest in Jakarta on Jan. 7, 2024, urging the court to acquit human rights activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti, who were accused of defaming senior cabinet minister Luhut Pandjaitan. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
A
wave of relief swept through human rights groups as a district court acquitted on Monday activists Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti on all counts of defaming senior cabinet minister Luhut Pandjaitan in a YouTube video.
Haris and Fatia had been accused of defaming the coordinating maritime affairs and investment minister with comments made in a YouTube video about his alleged involvement in extractive mining in the resource-rich and restive region of Papua, and by calling the minister “lord”.
The panel of judges at the East Jakarta District Court found that the comments made by Haris and Fatia on YouTube did not constitute criminal defamation, saying the defendants had no intent to defame Luhut but were simply referring to Luhut’s position in the government.
“Not to mention that the word “lord” had been widely used by the public before,” the bench said.
Haris and Fatia were also cleared of spreading misinformation because they cited research by some civil society groups.
Neither defendant will appeal, and Haris said: “Because this is an acquittal, of course I accept the verdict”.
However, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) prosecutors said they would appeal the acquittal.
