STATEMENT FROM TIME MAGAZINE RE INDONESIAN SUPREME COURT RULING

(New York, February 21, 2008)  Today, TIME filed a petition for review with the Indonesian Supreme Court asking it to reverse the Court’s decision of August 28, 2007 in favor of former President Suharto. The Court annulled two lower court decisions in TIME’s favor and awarded Suharto libel damages in the amount of one trillion rupiah (approximately $109 million).  If it stands, the decision will threaten press freedoms and erode the strength of democratic institutions in Indonesia.

TIME’s petition, which is submitted on the basis of “manifest error,” asks a new panel of Supreme Court judges to reinstate the decision of the lower courts.

The Central Jakarta District Court’s three-judge panel carefully considered all the evidence and concluded that TIME’s article “Suharto Inc.” was balanced, responsibly reported, and published in the public interest. An intermediate appellate court affirmed. In reversing the previous decisions and awarding former President Suharto an unprecedented sum of money, the Supreme Court gave little rationale for either the ruling itself or amount of the damages.

“The Court’s judgment was a blow to the rights of a free press in Indonesia,” said Michael Elliott, editor of TIME International.  “It also undermines the reform efforts undertaken by Indonesia’s democratically elected government to move beyond Suharto’s 32-year rule.”

When TIME won at trial, the decision was hailed as a victory for the rights of a free press in Indonesia. The Supreme Court’s decision, on the other hand, is viewed as a serious setback to democratic freedoms.

“This case is not just about Suharto versus TIME, it’s about freedom of the press versus authoritarian control of the press,” said Mulya Lubis, TIME’s counsel in Jakarta.  “This is a golden opportunity for the Supreme Court to restore free press as the basic tenet of the rule of law and democracy.”

We hope that a new panel of judges will reinstate the decision of the lower courts.  We are confident that, in a democracy such as Indonesia, freedom of the press must ultimately prevail.

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Media Contacts:

Daniel Kile Michelle Shao

TIME/New York             TIME/Hong Kong
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Arnfinn Jacobsen
Edelman/Indonesia
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arnfinn.jacobsen@indopacedelman.com