Kinanti Pinta Karana
Prita Mulyasari on trial at the Tangerang District Court. (Photo: Ismar Patrizki, Antara)
If Prita Apologizes We'll Drop All the Charges, Says Omni Hospital Lawyer
Omni Hospital’s lawyer said on Friday that they would drop the defamation charges against Prita Mulyasari if she was willing to publicly apologize for her criticism of her treatment at the hospital in an email she forwarded to friends.
“If she just says that she’s sorry we will publish it to the public. The same way Prita did with her email,” the hospital’s lawyer, Risma Situmorang, told detik.com.
Risma said that the most important issue for Omni Hospital was not about money but about the apology.
“We don’t want compensation, no matter how much it is. What we want is our doctors’ good names to be restored by her apology,” Risma said.
Tangerang High Court had ruled that Prita must pay Rp 204 million ($21,600) in damages in a civil defamation lawsuit brought against her by Omni Hospital. On Friday, Prita and her lawyer Slamet Yuwono came to Tangerang State Court to file the appeal.
Slamet said that he considered Omni Hospital’s demand for an apology to be puzzling.
“How could they ask for it? We’ve been working hard to prove that Prita is not guilty. An apology is a statement of guilt,” Slamet said.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Industry Fahmi Idris has offered to help Prita pay half of the damages.
“I am motivated to help her because I see how injustice had been served in Prita’s case,” Fahmi said on Friday.
Fahmi said he had spoken to Prita directly about the offer.
“Prita said she’s really thankful for it. I told her to come and pick up the money at my office anytime,” he said.
Fahmi and his friends from Indonesia’s big bike community would also hold a fundraising event to help Prita pay the remaining half of the damages.
“They are ready to organize fundraising, hopefully we will gather enough money by the end of the month,” he said.
Fahmi admitted he had followed Prita’s case since the beginning and was very concerned with the ruling.
“If this is an internet defamation case, Omni Hospital should have taken it as a criticism for them. The hospital could settle the matter through peaceful dialog,” Fahmi said.
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hock
1:38 PM December 5, 2009[“We don’t want compensation, no matter how much it is. What we want is our doctors’ good names to be restored by her apology,” Risma said. ] Oh Really??!! You don't want your blood money and your pound of flesh? I find that hard to believe.
But, prove me wrong. Put your money where your mouth is and make a public donation of the money you recieve from Prita to a charity of the public's choosing.