An Indonesian teenager was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison for “insulting” President Joko Widodo on Facebook. Indonesia’s government has received criticism following a string of arrests of people accused of insulting President Joko Widodo, making slanderous comments and posting fake information on social media The 18-year-old high school student from Medan on the island of Sumatra, identified by the initials MFB, was found guilty of violating the country’s internet law by making defamatory and slanderous comments online. Judges also ordered him to pay 10 million rupiah ($700) in fines. “If the fines are not paid, the jail term is extended by one month,” the presiding judge told the Medan court. The teenager accepted the verdict and did not file an appeal. MFB was arrested in August last year after he posted numerous inflammatory messages and memes against Widodo and police chief Tito Karnavian using fake accounts. In July, he made a post challenging the police to arrest him. And they did, a month later. The government of Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim majority country, has received criticism following a string of arrests of people accused of insulting the president, making slanderous comments and posting fake information on social media. Democracy and rights activisits have branded the internet law draconian and a threat to free speech. Last week a court in Jambi province, also on Sumatra, sentenced a local politician to one year in jail after he made a Facebook post considered to be insulting Islam. The judges found… [Read full story]
The court found Akil guilty of acceptingbribes totalling about 5 million USD in relation to local electiondisputes and money laundering. Evidence and testimony duringthe trial revealed how the money Akil had received influenced theresults of local election disputes brought to the court headed by him.Akil filed an appeal immediately after the verdict was read out. Arrested by investigators of the Corruption Eradication Commissionlast October, Akil was a lawmaker for the country's Golkar Party when hewas elected as a Constitutional Court justice in 2008. He assumed the court's top job in April last year, only six months before he was arrested.-VNA... [read more]
Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong assured visiting Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of their country's determination to strengthen bilateral relations with Indonesia. Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam meets Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono - Source: Getty images The Indonesian President arrived in Singapore on April 22 for a Leaders' Retreat with the Singaporean Prime Minister. During their meeting, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono reviewed the progress made since their last retreat in Bogor, Indonesia, in March 2012. They got an update on the…... [read more]
Nguyen Thanh Chan, 52, from Bac Giang, was sentenced to life in jail in 2004 for killing a woman. He was then set free on November 4, 2013, after the real murderer, Ly Nguyen Chung, confessed to police.— VNA Photo HA NOI (VNS) — The Supreme People's Procuracy has decided to prosecute a former judge for wrongly imprisoning a man from the northern province of Bac Giang for 10 years.According to investigation results, a former judge of the Supreme People's Procuracy Pham Tuan Chiem, failed in his responsibility, failed to check and assess documents and evidence in line with regulations.He…... [read more]
CNN reported Park's international legal team led by MH Group plans to submit a document on her human rights situation to the United Nations Human Rights Council. They claimed that Park, who's standing trial for corruption and abuse of power, "is living in a cell that's dirty, cold and constantly lit so she cannot sleep," according to the report.The team's draft report said the 65-year-old ousted leader suffers from a handful of chronic conditions and maladies."Her condition is only getting worse, and there is no evidence that she is receiving adequate care," the draft said.The Ministry of Justice said the…... [read more]
Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn attends an event commemorating the death of King Chulalongkorn, known as King Rama V, as he joins people during the mourning of his father, the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok, Thailand, October 23, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha A Thai court on Thursday jailed a blind woman for 1-1/2 years for violating the country's royal insult law, her lawyer and a court official said. Thailand's lese-majeste law is the toughest in the world, and those judged guilty of breaking it face up to 15 years in jail for each count…... [read more]
