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span class="caption" style="width: 276px;">Tell it like it is: Prita Mulyasari speaks outside her libel trial in Tangerang for complaining about a private hospital in 2009. Prita is now a legislative candidate for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). (JP/Multa Fidrus)Believing that she should not have spent 21 days in jail for criticizing a hospital's poor service online, Prita Mulyasari has decided to run in the 2014 legislative elections to fix the country's 'flawed' legal system.

'There should not be any more people being oppressed like me,' Prita, a mother of three, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Prita has been registered with the General Elections Commission (KPU) as a legislative nominee from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

She has been listed as number three in the Banten III constituency, which covers Tangerang regency as well as Tangerang and South Tangerang municipalities.

'I picked the PDI-P because of the party's commitment to defend wong cilik [the poor and disadvantaged]. Even Bu Mega also showed a great amount of attention to my case,' she said, referring to former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chair of the PDI-P.

In 2009, Megawati visited Prita at the Tangerang women's detention center where the latter had been detained. Prita was charged with libel after sending messages to a group email about how bad the treatment was at the Omni International Hospital in Tangerang, Banten.

Megawati's move at that time, however, was considered politically motivated because it was only weeks before the 2009 elections.

She was deemed as trying to garner public support because Prita's case had attracted massive sympathy from Indonesians across the archipelago. Support spread both on the streets and the Internet for days, calling on justice for Prita, who they deemed as actually a victim of a bad public service.

They considered law enforcement had implemented the law 'blindly' by criminalizing Prita, whom they considered had the rights to protest because she failed to receive the good hospital service she deserved as a consumer.

Prita was charged with the controversial 2009 Law on information and electronic transactions with offenses that carried a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment.

Following the outcry, prosecutors decided to let Prita leave detention and put her under city arrest, 21 days after she had been put behind bars.

In December 2009, the Tangerang District Court released her from all charges. But it was apparently not the end of Prita's saga because the Supreme Court overturned the district court's ruling in July 2011 and declared Prita guilty. The court ruled Prita must serve one year's imprisonment if she committed an unlawful act during six months of probation.

Prita finally could be totally relieved after the Supreme Court, in September 2012, approved her case review bid and declared her innocent in a final and binding decision.

'I spent almost five tiring and frustrating years just to deal with the legal matters concerning my complaints to the hospital. There is certainly something wrong with this country's legal system that needs to be addressed,' she said.

Even though she had eventually been declared innocent, Prita said, the legal process had resulted in negative psychological effects on her and her family.

When asked if she had applied to the PDI-P or whether it was the party that had approached her instead, she said, 'Both directions have worked for quite a long time and led to my decision.'

Prita said she was grateful for the public's tireless support for her, which had led to her being perceived as an icon of the fight for justice. 'I hope I can translate the support into a real fight for the people if I am elected.'

PDI-P executive and lawmaker Maruarar Sirait said that his party welcomed Prita's legislative candidacy. 'Our party is really concerned about injustice, like Prita experienced. The House of Representatives must be filled by good people like her,' he said.