Arya Dipa, Bandung – Journalist organizations have expressed their regret over the persistence by some parties to settle media cases in court.

The head of the West Java branch of the Indonesian Television Journalists Association (IJTI), Iman S. Nurdin, questioned the Bandung District Court's stance of accepting a civil lawsuit alleging slander over a news report aired by Parijz Van Java TV (PJTV), a local broadcaster in West Java.

"The Supreme Court and professional organizations have already agreed that media disputes can and should be settled at the Press Council," Iman said in Bandung on Thursday.

Bandung District Court spokesman Djoko Indiarto said the court could not reject any case submitted to it. "We must sit both for criminal trials and civil suits. Otherwise, we would be breaking the law and violating the basic principle of justice," Djoko said.

The civil lawsuit was brought following the PJTV coverage on Jan. 6 about a home-ownership dispute between Suhanda Markum and Farchat Bahafdullah against Nanang Saepudin. Suhanda and Farchat, who claimed they were entitled to the disputed house in the Riung area of Bandung, considered they had been defamed. They filed a civil lawsuit via their lawyer, Hidayat, on Jan. 21, in which they accused Nanang and PJTV of broadcasting a false and misleading report.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs say they were put at a disadvantage because the defendants reported false information. Hidayat said the broadcast violated the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law.

Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) secretary-general Suwarjono said all lawsuits regarding media news reports – be it electronic, broadcast or print media – should be settled at the Press Council, as regulated in the Press Law.

"This is the first case of defamation using the ITE Law against a media outlet. The law has tended to be used in cases relating to the Internet and social media, not a broadcast institution. This case should be settled at the Press Council," he said.

The case is currently in mediation between the two sides, while the plaintiffs have asked the defendants to pay Rp 1.6 billion (US$139,000) in compensation.

The Supreme Court issued a circular on Dec. 30, 2008, stating that disputes related to news reports should be settled through a mechanism pursuant to the Press Law.

Djoko said the court could not stop the legal process, however. The lawsuit will be heard by presiding judge Kasdiono alongside Dwi Sudaryono and Pinta Uli Boru Tarigan on the bench.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/09/06/bandung-court-urged-drop-media-case.html