Trial dropped against online editor
Teguh Santosa, the editor-in-chief of newspaper Rakyat Merdeka’s online service, was charged last month with the crime of "publicly expressing or inciting animosity and defamation towards… Islam."
But in a ruling, read out by a panel of three judges, the court accepted the arguments of Santosa’s legal team, which had said journalists should not be tried under the criminal code but the press law.
The panel said that it "declared the indictment unacceptable".
The judges also said that the charge levelled against the defendant was not appropriate and he should have faced charges of "publicly broadcasting, showing or displaying writing or pictures that contains enmity, hatred or insult against groups in Indonesia."
The maximum penalty for that charge is 30 months’ imprisonment.
It was unclear whether prosecutors would refile another case.
"I feel happy, but on the other hand I have to continue to consult and coordinate with my lawyers because the likelihood remains that the prosecutors will appeal or refile new charges," Santosa said after the ruling.
His supporters quickly sent the judges a flower wreath with the words "Congratulations for upholding press freedom!" inscribed on a large band across it.
The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten first printed 12 caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed last September and other, mostly European, newspapers followed suit, sparking outrage in the Muslim world. Islam considers images of the prophet to be blasphemous.
Santosa has said he never intended to disgrace Islam by publishing the cartoons.
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