Rock Star Ahmad Dhani Meets House’s Deputy Speaker Over Insult Allegations
Jakarta. House of Representatives’ deputy speaker Fadli Zon welcomed a visit by rock star Ahmad Dhani at his office in the Parliamentary Complex in Jakarta on Monday (28/11) to discuss the lawsuit filed against the musician for allegedly insulting the president.
“This is related to me. I don’t have the guts to call it a criminalization, but with the summoning from the Jakarta Police, we suspected that it is leading that way,” Dhani said.
“I was informed that [a legal expert] had been questioned by investigators. He told me that there were no criminal elements [in the Nov. 4 speech],” Dhani added.
The rock star-turned deputy district head candidate claimed there were efforts to force experts to deem his actions "criminal" in order to justify naming him a suspect.
“I went to Fadli to avoid criminalization,” Dhani said.
“There were no insults against the president. It is not the time for us to use the [law] articles based on subjectivity,” Fadli said.
“[Dhani] did not mention any names, which president, whether Zimbabwean or Cuban president. Based on the Criminal Law, it does not exist. No criminalization is needed for this case,” he said. “Law enforcement should be fair, no discrimination or ciminalization.”
The lawsuit against Ahmad Dhani was filed by Projo and Laskar Rakyat Jakarta, two volunteer groups which campaigned for President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo during the 2014 presidential election.
These groups claimed they were disturbed over Dhani’s statements and poor public speaking skills, and have submitted video and audio recordings as evidence.
Dhani is accused of insulting the head of state in public, which under Criminal Code Procedure could see him jailed for 18 months.
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