Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Indonesia court dismisses Facebook deformation case.
An Indonesian court on Tuesday freed a woman charged with deformation for sending an e-mail to friends telling them that the hospital that diagnosed her had got it wrong. Prita Mulysari had written to about 20 of her friends about being misdiagnosed with dengue fever at the hospital, when in fact she had mumps.
This post was later reposted without her knowledge on sites like Facebook.
The Omni International hospital then filed a case against her stating that this e-mail would tarnish the reputation of the hospital's doctors.
The hospital earlier this month offered to drop its civil charge against Ms Mulysari if she apologised.
But she opted instead to challenge the fine of 204 million rupiah ($21,400, £13,320) - much more than a year's salary for most Indonesians - in the Supreme Court.
That court decision has not yet been reached, but donations worth $50,000 so far have been collected to help her if necessary.
If she does not need to pay the fine she will donate the money to charity.
This particular case garnered a lot of attention and fulled public anger and a demand for legal reform.
Arrested on May 13, Mulyasari spent three weeks in custody while she was still breastfeeding her second child.
Public anger at her detention, symbolised by a Facebook support group with more than 100,000 members, forced authorities to release her and bring her before the courts.
Todung Mulya Lubis, a prominent lawyer and rights activist, said defamation should not be included in Indonesia's criminal code and said the verdict was a victory for freedom of speech.
"If she has been declared free by the court, it means the court respects freedom of speech rights," he said.
Slamet Yuono, Mulyasari's lawyer, said his client was considering a civil suit against the hospital if it did not apologise. Hospital officials could not immediately be contacted.
The case has thrown a spotlight on other examples where ordinary Indonesians appear to have been treated harshly by the country's legal system.
Earlier this year, a grandmother in central Java received a suspended sentence for the theft of three cocoa pods, while a family was arrested for collecting left-over kapok tree fibres, often used for sleeping material, off the ground in a plantation.
This post was later reposted without her knowledge on sites like Facebook.
The Omni International hospital then filed a case against her stating that this e-mail would tarnish the reputation of the hospital's doctors.
The hospital earlier this month offered to drop its civil charge against Ms Mulysari if she apologised.
But she opted instead to challenge the fine of 204 million rupiah ($21,400, £13,320) - much more than a year's salary for most Indonesians - in the Supreme Court.
That court decision has not yet been reached, but donations worth $50,000 so far have been collected to help her if necessary.
If she does not need to pay the fine she will donate the money to charity.
This particular case garnered a lot of attention and fulled public anger and a demand for legal reform.
Arrested on May 13, Mulyasari spent three weeks in custody while she was still breastfeeding her second child.
Public anger at her detention, symbolised by a Facebook support group with more than 100,000 members, forced authorities to release her and bring her before the courts.
Todung Mulya Lubis, a prominent lawyer and rights activist, said defamation should not be included in Indonesia's criminal code and said the verdict was a victory for freedom of speech.
"If she has been declared free by the court, it means the court respects freedom of speech rights," he said.
Slamet Yuono, Mulyasari's lawyer, said his client was considering a civil suit against the hospital if it did not apologise. Hospital officials could not immediately be contacted.
The case has thrown a spotlight on other examples where ordinary Indonesians appear to have been treated harshly by the country's legal system.
Earlier this year, a grandmother in central Java received a suspended sentence for the theft of three cocoa pods, while a family was arrested for collecting left-over kapok tree fibres, often used for sleeping material, off the ground in a plantation.
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