Prosecutors have demanded that a Jakarta court punish the editor of Playboy Indonesia with a two-year jail term for distributing indecent pictures to the public and making money from them, Reuters has reported. The magazine's first edition sparked protests in Indonesia April 2006 although it had no nudity and less flesh visible in the issue than many other magazines on sale in the world's most populous Muslim country.
Amid tight security chief prosecutor Resni Muchtar, according to a Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) report, told the South Jakarta district court that Playboy Indonesia editor Erwin Arnada "damaged the nation's morality". Judges adjourned Tuesday's court hearings until March 22 to give Arnada and his lawyers to draft their defence.
Arnada has argued Playboy Indonesia was good for developing a pluralistic society in the country, but the prosecution and Islamic hardliners who have regularly attended his trial since late last year said he had "harmed the nation's morals". "The pictures selected by the defendant were improper for publication because they violated decency and aroused lust," Muchtar told the South Jakarta court.
More than 100 Muslim protesters in the courtroom criticised the prosecution for being soft, shouting "Hang him, Hang him". Indonesia has 220 million people, about 85 per cent of whom follow Islam. Most Muslims in the country are moderate.
Radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who spent time in jail for the deadly 2002 Bali bombings before being acquitted by the Supreme Court, also attended the trial. "The prosecution's demand does not match the damage that Playboy has inflicted. We want the judges to give the defendant a heavier sentence," he told reporters.
Under Indonesian laws, sentencing demands from the prosecution serve as strong advice to judges who can hand down harsher sentences or dismiss the case altogether.
When it was launched, it sparked harsh opposition from religious groups and conservative government officials. Protests including rock-throwing hardliners prompted the publisher to relocate Playboy Indonesia's editorial offices from Jakarta to the predominantly Hindu island of Bali. The magazine has been criticised even by some who acknowledge that it is no more pornographic than many local tabloids. The tabloids tend to feature more-explicit photos and stories.
