Muslims and liberals slam ‘Peterporn’ star’s sentence

One of the biggest names in Indonesian pop music has been imprisoned for making two sex tapes that were then leaked onto the internet last year.

Nazril Irham, known to his legions of fans as 'Ariel', is the lead singer of multi-platinum band Peterpan and an idol a large proportion of Indonesia's 240 million-strong population.

But the 29-year-old's celebrity status was shattered in the Muslim-majority nation last year when the two tapes, one showing him romancing an ex-girlfriend and the other his current paramour, actress Luna Maya, appeared on the internet in a scandal that has been dubbed 'Peterporn'.

During the trial, Irham claimed that the videos were on a laptop which was stolen. The videos were then uploaded to the internet - presumably by the thief - and the pop star couldn't be held responsible.

But that argument failed to wash with the court in Bandung, the capital of West Java, which ruled that the pop star could have prevented their distribution if he'd wanted. By failing to do so, the court said, he was in breach of Indonesia's strict anti-pornography laws that were brought in three years ago.

As well as sentencing Irham to three and a half years in jail, the court also fined him £17,000. Irham's legal team says it plans to appeal the verdict and the singer's many fans declared their unstinting support as he began his sentence.

However, Islamic hardliners in Indonesia – already concerned about the effect of the internet on the country's morals – condemned the jail term as lenient when they protested outside the court on Monday.

The Islamists had greeted Irham's appearance to hear his fate by throwing eggs and tomatoes, and later they vandalised a number of cars outside the court, including that of human rights activist Yenni Rosa Damayanti.

One of the Islamist protesters told the Jakarta Globe he had expected a longer sentence: "The law is not fair. This is not justice. Let's all support the general prosecutor to appeal the verdict!"

But the reaction from other quarters was one of dismay. Well known Indonesian lawyer Taufik Basari expressed her amazement at the decision on Twitter, saying: "A private video was 'stolen' and spread, victim of the stealing was then jailed for 3 years and six months, weird."

Meanwhile criminal law expert Chairul Huda told the Jakarta Globe she found it incomprehensible that the man who stole Irham's laptop and then distributed the videos only received two years.

"Ariel was indicted for taking part in the video distribution. The person who really distributed the video should have been given a longer jail term," Huda said.

Irham's girlfriend, Luna Maya, who appeared in one of the two videos, was equally aggrieved by the decision, saying: "We're Indonesians, we pay taxes, we've never done anything wrong, we've done nothing. But it's like they're raping our freedom, they're raping our privacy. If this country is going to hand out punishments based on public opinion, then we may as well do away with the courts."

It's not the first time that a high profile figure in Indonesia has fallen foul of the country's draconian laws concerning nudity. Last year, Erwin Arnada, editor-in-chief of Playboy Indonesia was sentenced to two years prison for publishing pictures of women's breasts.

Then, as with this latest case, the verdict was greeted with satisfaction by members of the Islamic Defenders Front [FPI]. "Looking at this through Muslim goggles, for the F.P.I. and all Muslims, adulterers must be stoned to death," said spokesman Abdul Qohar. ·