Makassar blogger arrested, flown to Jakarta, released after jobs law tweet

Andi Hajramurni
The Jakarta Post
Makassar / Sun, October 11, 2020 / 04:07 pm



A 36-year-old blogger from Makassar, South Sulawesi, was arrested on Friday for allegedly tweeting false information about the recently passed Job Creation Law but was later released because of a lack of evidence, one of her lawyers said.

The National Police arrested Videlya Esmerella after she posted a thread on Twitter discussing 12 articles purportedly included in the law that she said would disadvantage workers.

In a press conference on Friday, National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Argo Yuwono said the blogger’s tweets contained false information and accused her of violating Articles 14 and 15 of the 1946 Criminal Law, which prohibit spreading false information that could cause a public disturbance and carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Argo claimed the blogger wrote the tweets because she was upset that she was unemployed.

The 12 articles Videlya tweeted about do not appear in the latest draft of the law seen by the Post, but the final text of the law has yet to be made public.

Videlya was reportedly released by the police on Friday evening. She returned to Makassar early on Saturday morning.

Azis Dumpa, a Makassar lawyer who assisted Videlya, confirmed the news.

“She was released by the police since they did not have enough evidence to charge her,” Azis said.

Azis said the accusations against Videlya were baseless because the content of her tweets had been in wide circulation for days before she posted the thread, indicating that it did not originate with her.

“The articles have been circulating everywhere on social media. The police were just looking for a scapegoat to make it seem like there was an actor who orchestrated protests against the jobs law, even though it was purely conducted by civilians,” Azis said, adding that objections to the omnibus law had been appearing for months.

Azis said he suspected the police had forced the case and had exaggerated the scale of the situation because Videlya was arrested in Makassar and quickly flown to Jakarta without a summons.

Argo and National Police public information bureau head Brig. Gen. Awi Setiyono did not immediately respond to the Post’s requests for comment. (dpk/trn)

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Seorang blogger berusia 36 tahun dari Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan, ditangkap pada hari Jumat karena diduga men-tweet informasi palsu tentang Undang-Undang Cipta Kerja yang baru saja disahkan, tetapi kemudian dibebaskan karena kurangnya bukti, kata salah satu pengacaranya.

 
Polri menangkap Videlya Esmerella setelah dia memposting thread di Twitter yang membahas 12 artikel yang konon dimasukkan dalam undang-undang yang menurutnya akan merugikan pekerja.
 
Dalam konferensi pers pada hari Jumat, juru bicara Kepolisian Irjen Argo Yuwono mengatakan tweet blogger itu berisi informasi palsu dan menuduhnya melanggar Pasal 14 dan 15 Undang-Undang Pidana 1946, yang melarang penyebaran informasi palsu yang dapat menyebabkan gangguan publik dan hukuman maksimal 10 tahun penjara.
 
Argo mengatakan blogger itu menulis tweet tersebut karena kesal menganggur.
 
12 artikel yang di-tweet Videlya tidak muncul dalam rancangan undang-undang terbaru yang dilihat oleh Post, tetapi teks terakhir undang-undang tersebut belum dipublikasikan.
 
Videlya dilaporkan dibebaskan oleh polisi pada Jumat malam. Dia kembali ke Makassar pada Sabtu pagi.
 
Azis Dumpa, pengacara dari Makassar yang mendampingi Videlya, membenarkan kabar tersebut.
 
"Dia dibebaskan oleh polisi karena mereka tidak memiliki cukup bukti untuk menuntutnya," kata Azis.
 
Azis mengatakan tuduhan terhadap Videlya tidak berdasar karena konten tweetnya telah beredar luas berhari-hari sebelum dia memposting  thread, menunjukkan bahwa itu tidak berasal dari dirinya.
 
“Artikel-artikelnya sudah beredar dimana-mana di media sosial. Polisi hanya mencari kambing hitam agar seolah-olah ada aktor yang melakukan protes terhadap UU Ketenagakerjaan, padahal murni dilakukan oleh warga sipil, ”kata Azis seraya menambahkan keberatan terhadap omnibus law sudah muncul berbulan-bulan.
 
Azis mengatakan, dia curiga polisi telah memaksa kasus tersebut dan telah membesar-besarkan skala situasinya karena Videlya ditangkap di Makassar dan segera diterbangkan ke Jakarta tanpa surat panggilan.
 
Argo dan Kepala Biro Penerangan Masyarakat  Polri Brigjen Pol. Jenderal Awi Setiyono tidak segera menanggapi permintaan komentar dari Post.