Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Lawyers for former Peterpan vocalist Nazril "Ariel" Irham have asked the Bandung District Court to drop all the charges against him and his music editor, Reza Rizaldy.
Reza's lawyers also asked that all the charges be dropped in the high-profile pornography case. Reza is accused of uploading the infamous sex videos allegedly depicting Ariel and two top artists, Luna Maya and Cut Tari, to the Internet.
The lawyers stated that the prosecution's charges were vague and inaccurate. "Based on strong legal foundations, we assert to the judges that Ariel is not guilty of spreading pornography on the Internet," Ariel's lawyer Timothy Inkiriwang said at Ariel's second session in court. Like the first court session, the second was held behind closed doors.
In the initial trial session on Nov. 22, Ariel was accused of violating a 2008 pornography law on the production, copying and distribution of pornography, a 2008 law on information and electronic transactions for intentionally showing lewd and immoral acts and an article in the Criminal Code.
If he is found guilty, Ariel could face a minimum of six months and a maximum of 12 years in prison and a fine of between Rp 250 million (US$27,750) and Rp 6 billion.
Ariel's lawyers said he should be acquitted of all charges because he would not have ruined his career in such a way by distributing sex videos over the Internet.
Reza faces almost the same charges as Ariel, including violating the 2008 law on information and electronic transactions. Reza's lawyer Yulius Setiarto asked the judges to drop the charges because the alleged acts took place in 2006, while Reza is being charged with a law that was enacted in 2008. "The laws are not retroactive, unlike the corruption law," Yulius said.
Yulius also said that the indictment dealt mostly with computer files and folders but did not describe them in detail, including their contents and length.
He said prosecutors erred in the indictment, which stated that Reza copied the sex videos from Ariel's external hard drive to two personal computers. One of the computers was owned by a recording studio in Antapani, Bandung, and the other was Reza's home computer.
Chief prosecutor Rusmanto objected to all the lawyers' statements and said the evidence and indictments were accurate. "We ask the judges to overrule the objections and proceed with the trial," Rusmanto said.