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Nuril on course to be first defamation convict freed by presidential amnesty
The West Nusa Tenggara woman will also become the first nonpolitical convict in the country’s history to receive amnesty.
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Baiq Nuril (center) arrives at the Law and Human Rights Ministry's office in Jakarta on July 8. JP/Dhoni Setiawan. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
B
aiq Nuril Maknun is not the first — and may not be the last — Indonesian to fall victim to the country’s draconian cyber law, yet she is undoubtedly the first person convicted of defamation on course to being freed by the President.
The West Nusa Tenggara woman will also become the first nonpolitical convict in the country’s history to receive amnesty, which is expected to be handed down by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo through a presidential decree.
The House of Representatives has given a nod for the President to grant amnesty for Nuril, a former high school teacher sentenced to six months behind bars for defaming her alleged sexual abuser, in a unanimous decision made during a plenary session on Thursday.
The plenary concurred with the stance of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs, which agreed by acclamation to recommend that Jokowi free Nuril from her conviction.
“Baiq Nuril Maknun is a victim of verbal violence. What she did was protect herself from further psychological or sexual harassment,” Commission III deputy chairman Erma Suryani Ranik said during the plenary meeting.
The House’s approval followed a letter sent last week by Jokowi, in which the President asked the legislative body to consider the plan to grant Nuril amnesty as her punishment had elicited sympathy from the public.
Article 14 of the 1945 Constitution states that the President must take into account the consideration of the House when granting amnesty, which removes all legal consequences for someone convicted of a crime.
