Indonesian Constitutional Court petitioned to remove prison sentences for libel

LBH Pers, an Indonesian legal aid group for press, have lodged a petition before the Indonesian Constitutional Court asking it to declare that the sanction of imprisonment in defamation cases is a disproportionate and unconstitutional restriction on the right to freedom of expression. Specifically, the Court has been asked to review Articles 207, 310(1,2), 311(1) and 316 of the Criminal Code. Under Articles 310(1,2) and 311(1), those found guilty of defamation or libel face jail terms of up to four years. The Court has also been asked to review Articles 207 and 316 because they provide "special treatment and protection" to state officials and could harm freedom of expression.

There is a mixed track record for freedom of expression at Indonesian higher courts. In July 2007, the Constitutional Court struck a blow for freedom of expression when it held that two colonial criminal code provisions on sedition and hate speech violated the right to freedom of expression. Earlier, in December 2006, the Constitutional Court declared various criminal provisions that provided special protection to the president and other public figures for insult were incompatible with the constitutional right to freedom of expression (a translation of the decision should eventually appear here). And also in 2006, the Supreme Court overturned a prison sentence for defamation against Bambang Harymurti. However, in 2007, the Supreme Court awarded Suharto 100mUSD in defamation damages in a case against Time Asia and USD600,000 against Jawa Pos, judgments widely seen as indicating a worsening climate for media freedom.