Facebook user tried for defamation in Yogyakarta

YOGYAKARTA. Dozens of people packed Bantul District Court in Yogyakarta on Tuesday to express their support for Ervani Emy (EE), who was on trial for defamation allegedly perpetrated through her Facebook account.

The residents of Gedongan village, Bangunjiwo district, Bantul regency, protested the use of the and Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law against EE.

“The ITE Law has stifled the creativity of the common people,” said Giyanto from the Labor Solidarity Alliance, who was leading a rally outside the court alongside several non-governmental groups affiliated with the Victims of the ITE Law Solidarity Forum.

AS the defendant arrived at the courthouse, the residents chanted “Free EE”. They also unfurled a wide banner showing EE’s photo and the words “Release EE!”.

EE has been held at the Wirobangun State Detention Center in Yogyakarta city since Oct. 29 after the Yogyakarta Police stated her dossier had been completed.

EE was reported by Sarastuty, also known as Ayas, who felt insulted by a posting on EE’s Facebook page. Ayas is supervisor of the Jolie Jogja jewelry shop where EE’s husband worked as a security guard.

In the initial trial presided over by Judge Sulistyo Muhamad Dwi Prasetyo, prosecutors read the indictment against EE. The judge reprimanded the team of prosecutors led by Dani Prasuko at one point for being late, meaning the trial was postponed for almost two hours.

“Please note the schedule again and don’t be late, or the court will be said to be working slowly,” said Sulistyo.

In his indictment, Dani said that EE had intentionally and without right distributed and/or transmitted and/or accessed electronic information containing insults and/or defamation through Facebook between May and July this year at her home in Bangunjiwo village.

In the offending post, EE wrote “Pak Har is a good person. The bad people are Ayas and the other supervisors. We feel Ayas is not suitable to be in charge of Jolie Jogja jewelry shop, as she overreacts and is unstable like a small child.” The comment appeared after EE’s husband Alfa Janto was dismissed unilaterally for refusing to be transferred to Cirebon, West Java.

“Diah Sarastuty felt that her dignity was being attacked by the defendant in this comment. She felt her good name had been tainted and felt ashamed, as she is the manager of the Jolie Jogja jewelry shop, and was worried the comments could have repercussions for the company and her own name,” said Dani.

Prosecutors accused EE of violating the Criminal Code on defamation.

EE’s defense team, led by Hamzal Wahyudin from the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH), said it would submit a plea. He also submitted a detention postponement request for EE to the panel of judges. “Her family and 50 Yogyakarta residents will be her guarantors,” said Hamzal.

Sulistyo said he would consider the request and the decision would be delivered in the next session on Nov. 17.

During the session, EE’s mother Suparmi prayed continuously, her eyes closed but tears escaping down her cheeks. Before the trial, she struggled to contain her emotions, sobbing loudly and demanding her daughter be freed.

Many of EE’s neighbors shed tears when they met the defendant in the courthouse’s detention room. They asked EE, who was wearing a headscarf and works at the Gembira Loka Zoo in Yogyakarta, to remain strong and steadfast.

Several Facebook users have faced legal cases in Indonesia, including a resident of East Jakarta, Muhammad Arsyad, who was arrested for allegedly defaming former Jakarta governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Facebook. Jokowi forgave Arsyad, who was then freed from police custody, although the case has reportedly not been closed. (Bambang Muryanto)