(JP/Arya Dipa)

Former front man with the band Peterpan, Nazriel Irham, better known as Ariel Peterpan, who was released on parole from Kebonwaru Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, on Monday, received a warm welcome from his die-hard fans.

Many of his fans, who call themselves sahabat Peterpan, gathered at Kebonwaru Penitentiary on Sunday evening and spent a sleepless night there in order to witness the moment their idol gained his freedom. Peterpan’s songs, which were popular several years ago, could be heard from their mobile phones.

Ariel was freed from the penitentiary at 9:15 a.m. on Monday. The fans screamed and cheered when they saw a white car, containing their idol, leaving the penitentiary.

Apart from Peterpan aficionados, groups of journalists from various media organizations were also on standby from early on Monday morning.

Bandung Court sentenced the pop singer to three years and six months in prison in January last year for producing pornographic videos featuring him and two women on separate occasions.

The videos, initially intended for private use, were distributed by another individual. Ariel tried to appeal the conviction but his appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court last year.

According to Indonesian law, a convict is eligible for parole after serving two-thirds of his or her sentence. Ariel’s good behavior during his incarceration also earned him a remission.

Meanwhile, youngsters responded to Ariel’s parole with various statements on Twitter on Monday. Messages on the theme #Arielbebas (Ariel free) swarmed the timeline, mostly from those who enthusiastically welcomed the pop star’s release.

Tiara Oktarinie said that she had been waiting for the happy moment for quite some time. “Many people in this country have waited for Ariel’s release,” Tiara said on her Twitter account.

Another Twitter user, Nanda Pratama, 19, also warmly welcomed the release of the vocalist.

“Go out and enjoy the fresh air Ariel. Keep up the good work [in music],” said the student of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta via his account.

Nanda believed the three-and-a-half-year sentence was too heavy.

“He did not make that video for public consumption. It is not fair that he was subjected to prejudice, negative judgments and years in prison,” he said.

M. Luqman Bahar, 20, a student at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, shared a similar opinion.

“Why is he the only one to have been found guilty under the Pornography Law? Many others have been involved in sex videos. We also know there is a lot of pornographic content on the Internet,” Luqman said.

Yudith Ananda Putri, however, had a different opinion. She said that Ariel, who took part in the sex videos with TV celebrities Cut Tari and Luna Maya, was over-exposed.

“The news that Ariel is soon to be released from prison is in every newspaper. Is he really that important?” she asked on her Twitter account.

Ariel’s story

2010, May 22
The celebrity sex videos featuring Ariel, actresses Luna Maya and Cut Tari are first uploaded from an internet cafe.

June 6
Luna Maya and Ariel say the video is fabricated, and not of them.

June 9
Cut Tari denies involvement in one of the videos.

June 11
National Police investigators question Luna and Ariel.

June 22
The police name Ariel a suspect in relation to pornography offences.

July 9
Cut Tari finally admits to being in one of three sex videos.

July 16
Police arrest a man, Reza Rizaldy, they suspect is among those who first distributed the videos. Reza tells investigators he obtained the video from Ariel’s laptop computer.

2011, Jan. 31
Bandung District Court sentences Ariel to three-and-a-half years in prison and a Rp 250 million (US$27,750) fine
for violating the 2008 Pornography Law.

April 25
The Bandung High Court upholds Ariel’s convictions.

Source: The Jakarta Post

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