Syakirun Ni'am, Ihsanuddin, Jakarta – Former Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Fatia Maulidiyanti and Lokataru Foundation founder Haris Azhar have won a Supreme Court appeal in the criminal case of alleged defamation against Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.
The Supreme Court appeal was submitted after the public prosecutor (JPU) refused to accept a not guilty verdict in a case against Maulidiyanti and Azhar in the East Jakarta District Court on January 8.
"The Supreme Court upheld the not guilty verdict for Fatia and Haris in the first level ruling in the East Jakarta District Court", said Maulidiyanti and Azhar's lawyer Andi Muhammad Rezaldy in a written statement sent to Kompas.com on Wednesday September 25.
Rezaldy said that Maulidiyanti's case was registered with the Supreme Court as case number 5714 K/Pid.Sus/2024 while Azhar's case was registered as case number 5712 K/Pid.Sus/2024.
The two cases were heard and a verdict handed down on September 11. The case was tried by Chief Justice Dwiarso Budi Santiarto and justices Ainal Mardinah and Sutarjo.
"The rejection of the JPU's appeal by the Supreme Court upholds the not guilty verdict for Fatia and Haris in the first level ruling at the East Jakarta District Court", said Rezaldy.
Rezaldy and his colleagues who are members of the Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD) and were acting as Maulidiyanti and Azhar's attorney, believe that the Supreme Court's ruling has maintained civil freedoms and guarantees the right of citizens to criticise the government.
The ruling is also considered to be a sign of the importance of legal protection for environmental fighters and provides hope for people who are fighting for humanitarian issues. "Especially in Papua", said Rezaldy.
In January, the panel of judges at the East Jakarta District Court handed down a not guilty verdict in the defamation case brought against Maulidiyanti and Azhar. The court ruled that the prosecution was unable to prove that that they had committed defamation against Pandjaitan
This case began when Maulidiyanti and Azhar held a podcast discussion on YouTube titled There is Lord Luhut behind the Economic Relations-Military Operations in Intan Jaya!! There are also State Intelligence Agency Generals!! NgeHAMtam.
In the video, Maulidiyanti and Azhar said that Pandjaitan "played a role" in mining business in Intan Jaya regency, Papua. Objecting to the accusation, Pandjaitan reported the pair to the police for defamation. This case did the rounds in court.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Kasus Pencemaran Nama Baik Luhut, MA Tolak Kasasi Jaksa, Fatia-Haris Tetap Bebas".]
