Indonesian president accuses politician of libel, seeks prison term

by uusjio | February 5, 2008 at 11:53 pm | 167 views | add comment

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Government prosecutors sought a 1-year prison term Tuesday to a former deputy House speaker for defamation charges for accusing Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of polygamy.
Chief prosecutor Noor Rachmad was quoted by DPA as telling the Central Jakarta District Court that Zaenal Ma'arif libelled the president, soon after he was fired as a deputy House speaker last June.
Ma'arif publicly claimed that he had evidence Yudhoyono was married to another woman before entering the Military Academy in the 1970s, or while a cadet at the academy, and that the couple had two children.
Yudhoyono denied the allegation, and filed a lawsuit against Ma'arif in July, accusing him of tarnishing his "dignity, good name and pride."
Prosecutor Rachmad said Ma'arif failed to provide evidence to prove that Yudhoyono was married to another woman before entering the military academy.
In Indonesia, the world's most-populous Muslim nation, polygamy is illegal for civil servants.
According to the existing law, defamation charges carries a maximum sentence of nine months in prison.
The court recessed Tuesday and will resume next week to allow Ma'arif to present his defence. (*) END