Indonesia's Constitutional Court on August 15 will decide on a petition to abolish Penal Code provisions that criminalise insult and defamation.

Filed by journalists Risang Bima Wijaya and Bersihar Lubis, the petition calls for the abolition of Articles 310 (1), (2) and 311 (1), which provide prison terms of nine months, 16 months and four years, respectively, for those found guilty of insult and defamation. On the other hand, Articles 316 and 207 increase the terms by a third when the offence is committed against government officers.

The Legal Aid Centre for Press filed the application on behalf of the two journalists on 7 May this year, arguing that the first three provisions violate constitutional guarantees for freedom of expression and information, as found in Articles 28E (2), (3), 28F, and 28G of the Constitution, as well as Law No 39 Concerning Human Rights. The latter two also violate the principle of equality before the law, which is guaranteed under Article 27 (1).

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), a SEAPA member; the Press Council, Indonesian Journalists Association, and Indonesian Television Journalists Association are also supporting the petition.

A legacy of the former Dutch colonialists, the provisions are now being used to threaten critical journalists, media advocates noted, creating a climate of fear and self-censorship among journalists, to the detriment of the public interest.

Risang, editor of the "Radar Yogya" daily, served six months in prison after he was found guilty of insulting "Kedaulatan Rakyat" newspaper director Sumadi M. Wonohito in a 2002. The article alleged that Wonohito committed sexual harassment.

Bersihar, a columnist with the "Koran Tempo" daily, received a suspended prison term of one month for his article which criticised the Attorney General's Office for banning a history textbook.