Luna Maya & Cut Tari -- Apologies Made...

The case of Indonesia's first ever celebrity sex tape will not die. Perhaps this is an indication of the Indonesian public's insatiable appetite for all things celebrity, particularly gossip. Then again, it might just be a coordinated attempt by some unknown puppet master designed to keep more pressing and important issues out of the press and out of the minds of most Indonesians. Nevertheless, this is not a post on conspiracy theories or even gossip.

Luna Maya and Cut Tari, the two female stars in the sex tape cases to date have both made public apologies in separate news conferences. What is interesting is that neither admitted to being in the tapes. Both Luna Maya and Cut Tari focused on apologising for the harm that being linked to this scandal has done to their respective families and to their fans.

In essence, Luna Maya (photo from happier times?) apologised to all and sundry. She concluded by hoping that no one would be left worse of by the shenanigans associated with this juicy scandal. To be honest, it is hard to see how this is possible. After all, those involved will be forever associated with the scandal and no matter what the outcome it is something that they will carry with them until their end of days. Funnily enough Luna Maya refers to the news as being unpleasant. I guess that depends on where you are standing, or sitting, as the news was not all that unpleasant for some, I am sure. Judging by the amount of news and other coverage of the events there are seemingly plenty of people still following the events as they unfold.

Cut Tari focused much of her apology on her husband and family. A special mention was given to her husband for standing by her in her time of need. She also indicated that she was leaving the matter in the hands of her lawyer and the national police to sort out. Her lawyer is the noted Indonesian celebrity lawyer, and celebrity in his own right, Hotman Paris.

For Cut Tari there is added intrigue as it would seem that doctors associated with the case are suggesting that they have the necessary evidence to prove that the woman in the second video is Cut Tari. This is presumably based on physical characteristics. I would also be guessing that digital forensic technology has been used here in the form of multi-point comparisons. The sort of fun stuff that you see on CSI when they do fingerprint searches or multi-point facial recognition tests. Otherwise, the certainty is seemingly based on the naked eye (no pun intended) and in this day and age a positive identification might be a little premature.

In any event, it would seem that this case still has a ways to go yet.

Some additional happy snappies of Luna and Cut...

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part V -- The Criminal Complaint

The show must go on!

I am not sure that I can make a living out of writing about the comings and goings in the Manohara vs. The Prince case, but it is never short of interesting angles to pursue in the name of justice.

Besides for me the case has just become way more interesting that I know Hotman Paris Hutapea is acting as Manohara's counsel / lawyer. Hotman is one of those lawyers people tend to love or hate. My personal opinion is that he is a fine lawyer and if you have a procedural law problem in a civil law jurisdiction then he is an excellent choice. However, that is it for the free plugs for Hotman.

Besides there are plenty of lawyers who represent celebrities about Jakarta town but there are not many lawyers who are celebrities in their own right. Interestingly, Manohara has two on her case in Hotman and Farhat Abbas. So, there are angles to be explored on that front parallel to the abuse and torture case in which Manohara is alleged to have suffered.

The risk when Hotman is on board in a celebrity matter is that it can become a bit of a circus where the media attention is equally or more important than the actual legal result being sort. Manohara in the company of her layers, at least Hotman, filed a complaint with the Indonesian police on Tuesday (09/06) seeking to have her husband, Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhrya (a Prince from Kelantan State in Malaysia) charged with abusing, raping, and kidnapping her.

The prince is not alone in the complaint as he has been named with seven others. The seven are: Sultan Ismail Petra, Tengku Anis Binti Tengku Abdul Hamid, Captain Zakaria Saleh, Azhari, Muhammad Sobri and his wife, and Ichsan. Hotman has a penchant for grandstanding when it comes to drumming up interest in a particular matter.

So, it goes without saying that he would be telling the assembled journalist how the eight would be dealt with in Indonesia. This treatment would supposedly see each of the individuals named in the criminal complaint jailed for up to 70 years if convicted in an Indonesian court.

The only problem with this is that the crimes occurred in Malaysia and by all accounts need to be tried in Malaysia. Hotman, though, is of the opinion that all eight can be successfully prosecuted under Indonesian law and as such has not bothered to file a criminal complaint in Malaysia. As a lawyer seeking justice for a client, I would want to be covering all available bases and would be filing a criminal complaint in Malaysia irrespective of whether I believed that there was any serious prospects for success.

It is worth noting that there is an extradition treaty in place. Unfortunately, the extradition treaty would seem to preclude crimes committed in Malaysia from being tried in Indonesia. Hence, there is probably good reason to, at least, file a criminal complaint in Malaysia on Manohara's behalf.

According to Hotman the evidence that Manohara is going to present is her body. Apparently, this is sufficient to show how she was "treated" (abused and raped). As I have posted in the previous incarnations of this series of "personal views", the documenting of the injuries and trauma suffered are only half the journey. A successful prosecution will require Hotman and his team to prove that the documented injuries were inflicted by those named in the criminal complaint.

The forensic examination of the alleged abuse has been undertaken at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital. This is a good hospital and they are not likely to be subject to any charges of embellishing the forensic examination results. I would be comfortable accepting that the documented injuries and trauma noted in this examination being an accurate reflection of the injuries and trauma present. Once again, this still needs to be attributed to those individuals noted in the criminal complaint.

At the moment much of this case is "she said, he said", although the Prince is not saying all that much at the moment. As I have been saying all along, this is an interesting case. It is not interesting for any ramifications that it supposedly has for bilateral relations between Indonesia and Malaysia, but rather for the interesting legal dilemmas that it gives rise to.

The show must go on. So, this means that there will undoubtedly be a Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part VI.

Todung Mulya Lubis

Todung Mulya Lubis is one of Indonesia's most recognized advocates and has represented many big names both local and foreign in the courts of Indonesia. He has been an avid campaigner for human rights, transparency international, freedom of the press and myriad number of other issues has lost his license to practice law in Indonesia.

Is this a simple case of a high profile law running foul of the government or other interests and then being silenced, or at least trying to be silenced, by taking away the right to practice law? Maybe if we were cynical enough as people to believe that such a thing remains possible in 2008!

The alleged breach is of Article 4(j), Article 3(b), and Article 6 of the Indonesian Advocates' Code of Ethics. These particular Articles deal with matters relating to conflict of interest and serving your client's interests. What is intriguing about this case is that the person who submitted the complaint to the Regional Honour Board for Jakarta was none other than Hotman Paris Hutapea.

Most people might have been salivating at the prospect of two of Indonesia's premier legal minds going at it tooth and nail if this had been the case of them being pitted against each other in a matter before the courts. The reality of one of them potentially losing their license does not have that same saliva-ability to it.

Without going into any serious analysis of the decision to strip Mulya Lubis of his license, it is worth pointing out that on face value it seems that Indonesia is in fact taking breaches of the Code of Ethics seriously if one of Indonesia's more senior advocates can fall foul of the system and be stripped of his license to practice.

Nevertheless, the decision to strip the man of his license to practice is harsh as this is the ultimate penalty available and in essence strips the man of the ability to earn a livelihood in his chosen profession. If a breach of the Code was proven then perhaps a temporary suspension of his license to practice and the suspension being permanently recorded on his professional record may have been sufficient. There were dissenting opinions in the judgment of the Regional Honour Board and it seems the dissent did not relate to the substance of the breach but rather the severity of the penalty imposed.

It is likely that Mulya Lubis will instruct his counsel to appeal the decision. He has this right! The decision is appellable to the Central Honour Board. However, my understanding is that any decision issued by the Central Honour Board is final and binding. If the Central Honour Board affirms the decision of the Regional Honour Board then Indonesia will have lost one of its senior advocates from its ranks.

However, it must be said that a conflict of interest is a conflict of interest and lawyers should understand when they have one. The advocate should then disclose the conflict of interest and recuse themselves from the matter. A failure to do so is a breach of the Code and is punishable. It is clear from the decision that the Regional Honour Board considers a breach of the conflict of interest provisions sufficiently serious to warrant the ultimate penalty!

The news on this case can be found here and here (in Indonesian). The case goes on!