RI`s legal system still criminalizes the press : council

Indonesia still adheres to a legal system that criminalizes the press, Press Council`s Vice Chairman Sabam Leo Batubara said
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"This can be seen in the attitude of the authorities who often treat press workers like criminals," he said at a seminar here on Saturday.

During the reform era, several cases which involved the press ended with verdicts that blamed the press, he said.

"In addition to the government, the House of Representatives (DPR) also plays a role in criminalizing the press, and this tendency is even increasing," he said at the seminar organized by the Press Legal Aid Institute and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI).

One of the instances in which the DPR had criminalilzed the press was the crafting of article 27 paragraph (3) and Article 45 paragraph (1) of Law No 11/2008 on Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE).

"In the articles, journalists can be jailed for six years with maximum fines of Rp1 billion if proven guilty of libel in disseminating information through elecronic media," he said.

In addition, there were legal provisions that can put press workers in jail, among thers Article 5 paragraph (1) and article 51 in the Law on Public Information, a number of conditions stipulated in Law No 44/2008 on Pornography, Article 99 paragraph (1 ) of Law No 10/2008 on General Elections, and the Criminal Code (KUHP) dealing with criminal cases.

"Now, the House has prepared a draft Criminal Code which is more cruel than that made during the Dutch colonial regime," Leo said.

He said, the ranking of press freedom in Indonesia continues to worsen from year to year. In 2002, press freedom in the country was rated the 57th best in the world but in 2008 it dropped to 111th place.(antaranews.com)