Ronna Nirmala – Two men on trial for selling iPads without Indonesian-language manuals were acquitted of all charges by a panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday.

The presiding judge, Sapawi, decided that Randy Lester Samu and Dian Yudha Negara did not violate Article 8 Law 8/1999 about Consumer Protection and Article 52 Law 36/1999 about Telecommunications as accused by the prosecutors.

Both men were arrested on Nov. 24, 2010. Policemen posing as buyers claimed to be responding to an advertisement on Kaskus, an online forum. Randy and Dian told police that they bought the tablet computers in Singapore but were not able to produce customs papers.

The undercover operation and the 65-day detention of Randy and Dian was highly criticized by legal experts and consumer groups and sparked a media outcry.

The judges decided that the iPad is not included among the 45 electronic devices that require Indonesian-language manuals as regulated in Trade Minister Decree no 19/2009.

"Based on expert testimony and an official letter issued by the Trade Ministry, the iPad is not among the 45 items that must have Indonesian-language manuals," Judge Sapawi said.