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| Prita Mulyasari answers journalists questions in an undated file photo at Tangerang district court. (Antara Photo) |
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The Supreme
Court on Monday overruled a defamation verdict handed down to Prita Mulyasari
over an e-mail that was originally deemed a violation of the Law on Electronic
Information and Transaction.
In the
verdict that was issued on Monday, a Supreme Court panel of judges acquitted
Prita of all charges of defamation, and ordered the complete rehabilitation of
her good name by the prosecutor’s office.
“This
ruling annulled the [Tangerang district] court ruling and appeal ruling issued
by the Supreme Court,” Supreme Court Spokesman Ridwan Mansyur said on Monday,
as quoted by Tempo.co.
Presiding
Justice Djoko Sarwoko along with several other judges agreed that the e-mail
sent by Prita, who was accused of defaming Omni International Hospital, should
not be categorized as libelous.
Thirty-five-year-old
Prita’s plight was quickly taken up by the public, and an online support
campaign led to a popular nationwide fundraising effort to raise money for
Prita’s legal fees.
Prita
originally received a six-month suspended prison sentence from the Supreme
Court for violating the Law on Electronic Information and Transaction, a
verdict that directly contradicted the same court’s earlier acquittal in a
related civil case in July 2009.
Lawmaker
Eva Kusuma Sundari, a member of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs,
hailed the appeal as “fair” on Tuesday.
“The
verdict of this case review shows that the Supreme Court has rightly defended
the rights in a formal understanding, based on legal and material evidence,”
Eva said. “From early on we all knew that Prita was not guilty.”
Eva said to
prevent similar cases from occurring in the future, law enforcement needed “a
high level of integrity,” to produce comprehensive laws that provided
protection for the public.
“The laws
are aimed at strengthening human rights protection for the people, so that
these very rights do not put the people at a disadvantage,” Eva said.
Prita and
the hospital could not be immediately reached for comment.
However,
Kompas newspaper quoted Prita as being grateful for the Supreme Court ruling,
adding that she hopes “there will be no one meddling with my life and that of
my family anymore.”
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