Court acquits FB user over chat with friend

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Supreme Court acquitted Wisni Yetti, a housewife who was sued by her ex-husband for defamation, of charges in a case related to her Facebook chat.

The Bandung District Court sentenced Wisni to five months in jail in 2015 after she was found guilty of violating the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law because of a private conversation she had with her high school friend Nugraha.

Praising the court’s verdict, the South-East Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) said on Thursday that the Supreme Court had brought justice to Wisni.

“Wisni’s case has shown that women can become victims on the internet. She is a victim of domestic violence, cybercrime and information technology was misused to send her to jail,” SAFEnet activist Ellen Kusuma said in a statement.

The case started on Feb 17, 2014, when Wisni’s ex-husband Hasta Etika filed a police report that included a printout of a private Facebook conversation between Wisni and Nugraha.

Wisni was arrested in her hometown in West Sumatra on Feb 19, 2014, and taken to Bandung, West Java, for the investigation.

According to SAFEnet, reported her then-husband in 2013 over domestic violence that she had allegedly been subject to since 1994.

However, the husband reported her in response after he breached her Facebook account, accusing her of cheating with Nugraha.

“We should notice here that in Wisni’s case, Hasta can also be charged with violating privacy,” Ellen said. — The Jakarta Post / Asia News Network