Sentenced To 10 Months In Prison, Jumhur Hidayat Not Detained

Labor activist Jumhur Hidayat hugs his mother after hearing the verdict of the panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court, Jakarta, Thursday (11/11/2021). ANTARA/Genta Tenri Mawangi

JAKARTA - Labor activist Jumhur Hidayat was sentenced to 10 months in prison for being proven guilty of a crime in broadcasting incomplete news that has the potential to cause trouble.

However, the panel of judges led by Chief Justice Hapsoro Widodo determined that Jumhur Hidayat did not need to be detained because he was still being treated by a doctor.

"(The panel of judges) imposed a prison term of 10 months, determined the prison sentence was reduced by the period of arrest and detention, determined that the defendant was not detained," said Hapsoro Widodo when reading the verdict.

In that decision, the panel of judges conveyed aggravating and lightening considerations.

"The situation is aggravating, the defendant's actions are disturbing. The situation is mitigating, the defendant is cooperative, admits his actions, is not complicated, the defendant is still under the care of a postoperative doctor, and the defendant still has family dependents," said Hapsoro.

In the trial, the judge's verdict against Jumhur was in line with the first alternative charge, which was subsidiary to the prosecutor, which refers to Article 15 of Law no. 1 of 1946 concerning Criminal Law Regulations.

However, the panel of judges determined that the primary and subsidiary charges of the prosecutor referring to Article 14 paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of Law No. 1 of 1946 were not proven so that Jumhur was free from the two charges. evidence in the form of a device and a flash drive had to be submitted for destruction, while other evidence including a laptop and campaign attributes were ordered to be returned to the defendant.

Jumhur Hidayat, a senior member of the Action Coalition to Save Indonesia (KAMI) and vice chairman of the Confederation of All-Indonesian Trade Unions (KSPSI), was charged with a criminal case after he criticized the Omnibus Law on Job Creation on his personal Twitter account @jumhurhidayat on October 7, 2020.

Jumhur, via his personal Twitter account, tweeted: “This law is for PRIMITIVE INVESTORS from China and GREEDY ENTREPRENEURS. If CIVILIZED INVESTORS are as follows: 35 Foreign Investors Express Their Distress towards the Ratification of the Job Creation Law. Click to read: kmp.im/AGA6m2”.

As a result of the tweet, Jumhur was arrested and detained by the police since October 13, 2020. Thus, Jumhur has been under arrest and detention for approximately 7 months. This means that he will serve his sentence for approximately 3 months.

However, that will happen if the legal counsel and public prosecutor do not file an appeal to the Jakarta High Court. So far, the two parties have not made a decision on the appeal.