JAKARTA - A Jakarta court yesterday sentenced an outspoken former parliamentarian, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, to two years and 10 months in jail for defaming President Suharto while on a trip to Germany.
As hundreds of police cast a security cordon around his building, Judge Syofinan Sumantri read out a four hour verdict statement that concluded: "The court has found him guilty as charged of insulting the president," who relieved him of his parliamentary seat. There was mayhem inside the packed courtroom. Outside critics assailed the ruling as a blunt indictment of Indonesia's legal system.