Heru Andriyanto

AGO to Challenge Prita’s Acquittal

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji showed an ambiguous expression on Tuesday when he said prosecutors would appeal the decision to throw out Prita Mulyasari’s defamation charge, but quickly added that he would still pursue disciplinary action against the prosecution team in the original case.

“I have discussed the matter with my deputy for general crimes [Abdul Hakim Ritonga] and he suggested that we challenge the verdict,” Hendarman told reporters in Jakarta.

The Tangerang District Court in Banten last month threw out a defamation charge against Prita, a mother of two who was accused of defaming Omni International Hospital in an e-mail message criticizing the facility’s treatment.

In the wake of the case, which caused a media uproar because Prita was detained for three weeks before the hearing began, Hendarman criticized district prosecutors in Tangerang for “unprofessional conduct” and ordered a team of investigators to interrogate them.

The Banten head prosecutor, Dondy Soedirman, was replaced while the trial was underway, but the AGO denied the succession was linked to the Prita case.

“Let’s see how the high court will decide, because we will use the court verdict as a consideration in imposing sanctions on the district prosecutors,” Hendarman said.

The Tangerang court ruled that prosecutors erroneously referred to the law on electronic transaction and information to charge and to detain Prita, because the law is not due to come into force until April 2010. “If the case is concluded, the result can be considered in deciding on the disciplinary sanctions,” Hendarman said.

“Now we need to wait whether the [Banten] High Court will accept the prosecutors’ appeal. They believe that the law has been in effect since it was passed [in 2008],” Hendarman said.

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