Muninggar Sri Saraswati – The law governing electronic transmissions, under which housewife Prita Mulyasari was charged for e-mailing a complaint about her treatment by a hospital, should not be used in isolation when considering defamation cases, a Supreme Court deputy chief justice said on Friday.
Abdul Kadir Mappong said other laws must be taken into account, including the Human Rights Law.
Prita, a mother of two who was detained on May 13 and charged with violating the Information and Electronic Transmission Law for complaining about her treatment at the hands of Omni International Hospital in Tangerang, was freed on Wednesday amid widespread public outrage. She appeared in court on Thursday in a brief televised hearing and media circus.
"There are other laws that allow [Prita] to express such an opinion. They're related to human rights," Mappong told reporters. He called on all judges and justices to be aware of what he called the limitations of the electronic information law in handling such cases.
However, with Prita now the subject of a criminal defamation case in Tangerang District Court, Mappong said the high court was barred from giving guidance to the judges handling the case. "This case is still ongoing. We are not allowed to intervene," he said.
The Human Rights Law guarantees every person the right to "own, express and spread opinions in accordance with his/her conscience in speech or in writing through print or electronic media."
Prita was sued by Omni for allegedly defaming the institution after she sent an e-mail to friends saying Omni's doctors were "impolite and unprofessional" in treating her for dengue fever in August 2008. The Tangerang court ruled in the hospital's favor in a civil case and fined her Rp 261 million ($26,000). After she refused to pay, she was jailed to await her trial.
The case has dominated media attention for several days after an online campaign to free her gained momentum on Facebook.
Prita faces a possible six years in jail under the defamation section of the electronics law as well as four years under the defamation clause of the Criminal Code.
Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalata said there was a need to synchronize the defamation laws. "Laws on the same charge should all carry similar penalties," Andi said. "For similar offenses, the penalty should not differ very much."
Bachtiar Aly, an authority on communications at the University of Indonesia, said the government and the House of Representatives must inform the public about the nuances of the law in a bid to prevent misinterpretation.
"On one hand, we have this information law, but on the other we also have the Constitution, Human Rights Law and press laws that guarantee freedom of expression," Bachtiar said.
"The Information and Electronic Transaction Law must be applied comprehensively in relation to other laws to prevent possible misinterpretations like this."