President to be summoned to testify in defamation case

Only presidential spokesmen Andi Mallarangeng and Dino Patti Djalal were present at Tuesday`s court session as witnesses in the case of former House of Representatives (DPR) Vice Speaker Zaenal Ma`arif who is accused of having defamed the president.
The president had reported Zaneal to the police for spreading the allegation that he (Yudhoyono) was already married and a father of one child when he entered the Military Academy early in his career.
The president had been asked to testify in the court hearings as Zaenal`s lawyer, Ahmad Kholid, had insisted that the court also hear him (Yudhoyono) as the plaintiff.
"We want certainty. If the president can come, when will he come. And when he can absolutely not come, we also want certainty," Ahmad said.
The panel of judges chaired by Agung Rahardja finally asked the public prosecutor to serve another summons on the president to attend the court`s next session on January 15.