Playboy Indonesia editor could face two years in prison

Mar 13, 2007, 7:47 GMT

Jakarta - Government prosecutors on Tuesday demanded two years in jail for the editor of Playboy Indonesia magazine for violating anti-indecency laws by publishing 'porn' pictures in the magazine.

Amid tight security Chief Prosecutor Resni Muchtar told the South Jakarta district court that Playboy Indonesia editor Erwin Arnada 'damaged the nation's morality'.

But hundreds of Muslim hardliners said two years was not enough, with some demanding Arnada be sentenced to death, even though the maximum sentence for the anti-indecency law is two years and eight months.

Playboy Indonesia was first published in April 2006 with an edition specially designed to fall in line with local customs in the world's most populous Muslim nation, including no nudity.

At the time it sparked harsh opposition from religious groups and conservative government officials. Protests including rock-throwing hardliners prompted the publisher to relocate Playboy Indonesia's editorial offices from Jakarta to the predominantly Hindu island of Bali.

The magazine has been criticized even by some who acknowledge that it is no more pornographic than many local tabloids sold in the country.

The tabloids tend to feature more-explicit photos and stories. Pornographic films on video, though illegal, are sold more or less openly at stores across the country.

Judges adjourned Tuesday's court hearings until March 22 to give Arnada and his lawyers to draft their defence.