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Groups condemn defamation lawsuit against Southeast Sulawesi journalists
The freedom of the press is seen in peril once again after a legislative candidate in Southeast Sulawesi reported two journalists to police for defamation.
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Illustration of press freedom (Shutterstock/File)
Fadli and Wiwid were reporting for their respective local media, detiksultra.com and okesultra.com, about alleged fraud and document forgery by Andi Tendri Awaru, a candidate from the National Mandate Party (PAN).
When asked to confirm the allegations, the politician warned the two journalists not to publish the reports, but Fadli and Wiwid went ahead and published their reports in October 2018.
Andi later reported the journalists to the Southeast Sulawesi Police for defamation. Both journalists were accused of violating the Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law for allegedly smearing Andi’s reputation.
Police summoned Fadli and Wiwid for questioning on Thursday. In the summons letter, police investigators wrote that the preliminary investigation against the journalists had begun on Jan. 4, while they had received Andi’s report on Jan. 8.
La Ode Pandi Sartiman of the Alliance of Independent Journalists’s (AJI) Southeast Sulawesi office condemned the summons.
“This is merely a press dispute; therefore, the Press Law should be used to resolve such a case rather than the ITE Law,” La Ode said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Press Council should also handle and solve this case rather than the police, as the two institutions already have an MoU on cases implicating journalists or media.”
La Ode’s statement was echoed by Ika Ningtyas of the Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet). She demanded that the police stop the investigation and requested that the Press Council protect Fadli and Wiwid “by sending an official letter to the police to stop the investigation.”
Fadli and Wiwid’s case adds to a long list of journalists reported of violating the ITE Law. According to SAFEnet’s report in January, there have been 16 lawsuits against journalists and media company based on the ITE Law between 2008 and December 2018.
