Indonesia: Porn Law Claims First High-Profile Offender
23 June 2010
The police have named popular singer Nazril "Ariel" Ilham a suspect for pornography offences after sex videos allegedly featuring him and his two model girlfriends circulated on the Internet.
Ariel will be the first celebrity charged with the controversial pornography law, passed in 2008 after years of heated debate on whether such a law was needed.
Police say he is also charged for violating another controversial law on electronic information and transaction, which punishes those who spread indecent images, and for violating the Criminal Code.
The Pornography Law stipulates anyone who produces, makes, copies, circulates, broadcasts, offers, trades, loans or provides porn content can face up to 12 years in prison.
Article 43 of the same law also rules that anybody who stores porn content in any form should destroy it or hand it over to police within 30 days after the law was endorsed. This means the police technically have to arrest the millions of people who have downloaded and stored Ariel's alleged sex videos on their computers and cellphones should they want to consistently implement the law.
National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi said detectives had collected enough evidence to charge the former Peterpan frontman.
"We also charge him with the 2008 Electronic Information and Transaction Law and the Criminal Code on adultery," Ito said.
Ariel was earlier reported for violating public indecency under the Criminal Code and faced a maximum of six months in prison. Police, however, have been facing pressure from hard-line Islamic groups and the Indonesian Child Protec-tion Commission to take action against the people who produced the videos.
Ariel reportedly turned himself in to police Tuesday accompanied by his lawyer. Ariel has denied he was the person in the videos. The videos allegedly feature Ariel with two women, high-profile TV presenters Luna Maya and Cut Tari. The two have not been named suspects.
The videos were made between 2006 and 2007, analysts say. As the pornography law does not apply retroactively, Ariel should not have been charged for producing the video. Ito, however, said this technicality would not prevent police from charging Ariel.
"The videos may have been made before the law existed, but the distribution was a recent occurrence," he said, hinting that Ariel might have distributed the videos himself.
Police summoned Ariel's former bandmates, Andhika and Indra, to investigate if Ariel had ever distributed the videos to his closest friends.
Both Andhika and Indra claimed they had not seen the videos.
The pornography law has sparked protests from women's groups and cultural activists, who fear the law would only incriminate women and artists.
Last December four erotic dancers were arrested and charged with the law during a New Year's Eve party in two nightclubs in Bandung, West Java. The clubs' managers were also arrested. Bandung Police have intensified raids following an announcement by Mayor Dada Rosada calling for a crackdown on "un-Islamic" behavior.
Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar praised police actions, saying the public had been waiting for arrests.
Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar said the use of the law was correct and should not be considered controversial.
Source: Jakarta Post |
