PROSECUTORS yesterday demanded a Jakarta court punish the editor of Playboy Indonesia with a two-year jail term for distributing indecent pictures to the public and making money from them.
But more than 100 Muslim protesters in the courtroom criticised the prosecution for being soft, shouting "hang him, hang him".
Among those attending the trial of editor-in-chief Erin Arnada was radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.
Bashir spent time in jail for the deadly 2002 Bali bombings -- in which 88 Australians were killed -- before being acquitted by the Supreme Court.
Bashir said yesterday the prosecution in the Arnada trial was not being strong enough.
"The prosecution's demand does not match the damage that Playboy has inflicted. We want the judges to give the defendant a heavier sentence," he said.
The magazine's first edition sparked protests in Indonesia last April although it had no nudity and less flesh visible in the issue than many other magazines on sale in the world's most populous Muslim country.
Arnada argued Playboy Indonesia is good for developing a pluralistic society in the country, but the prosecution and Islamic hardliners who have regularly attended his trial since late last year say he had "harmed the nation's morals".
"The pictures selected by the defendant were improper for publication because they violated decency and aroused lust," prosecutor Resni Muchtar told the South Jakarta court.
Under Indonesian laws, sentencing demands from the prosecution serve as strong advice to judges who can hand down harsher sentences or dismiss the case altogether. Subsequent editions of the magazine are still on sale in Indonesia.
But more than 100 Muslim protesters in the courtroom criticised the prosecution for being soft, shouting "hang him, hang him".
Among those attending the trial of editor-in-chief Erin Arnada was radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.
Bashir spent time in jail for the deadly 2002 Bali bombings -- in which 88 Australians were killed -- before being acquitted by the Supreme Court.
Bashir said yesterday the prosecution in the Arnada trial was not being strong enough.
"The prosecution's demand does not match the damage that Playboy has inflicted. We want the judges to give the defendant a heavier sentence," he said.
The magazine's first edition sparked protests in Indonesia last April although it had no nudity and less flesh visible in the issue than many other magazines on sale in the world's most populous Muslim country.
Arnada argued Playboy Indonesia is good for developing a pluralistic society in the country, but the prosecution and Islamic hardliners who have regularly attended his trial since late last year say he had "harmed the nation's morals".
"The pictures selected by the defendant were improper for publication because they violated decency and aroused lust," prosecutor Resni Muchtar told the South Jakarta court.
Under Indonesian laws, sentencing demands from the prosecution serve as strong advice to judges who can hand down harsher sentences or dismiss the case altogether. Subsequent editions of the magazine are still on sale in Indonesia.
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