Tainted Press Freedom

IT is clear the police overreacted in charging Jakarta Post Chief Editor Meidyatama Suryodiningrat with religious blasphemy. A clause from the Penal Code was arbitrarily applied to a cartoon that appeared in the English-language daily newspaper, without considering the context. The move by the police is sure to endanger freedom of the press in this country.

The caricature published in the paper's July 3, 2014, edition was intended to describe the antics of followers of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the country. The metaphor was clear in its condemnation of the group, the illustration in their flag replaced with an illustration of a skull and bones. The meaning of the cartoon, which was taken from the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds should have been understood in the proper context. It only applied to the acts of ISIS supporters.

December 23, 2014