The prosecutor in the case involving Balinese musician I Gede Ari Astina, who is more popularly known as Jerinx, has reportedly submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court after the Denpasar High Court reduced his sentence to 10 months in prison following an earlier appeal.
Jerinx’s legal representative is also filing an appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that his client “deserves to be free.”
The 43-year-old drummer of arguably Indonesia’s biggest pop-punk band Superman Is Dead (SID) was found guilty of hate speech in November following a controversial trial, after which he was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
In June, the 43-year-old uploaded a post to his Instagram account @jrxsid where he accused Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) of being “flunkeys” to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Balinese musician said tests to detect COVID-19 are inaccurate and questioned why the association and hospitals in Indonesia are making testing a requirement for expecting mothers.
Rapid tests are indeed an inaccurate means of screening for the coronavirus, a matter that health experts in Indonesia have also pointed out repeatedly. However, the test was required for many administrative requirements in the country, including for travel and women who are giving birth in hospitals.
Compounding the issue is that Jerinx’s vocal rejection against rapid tests coincided with his active sharing and endorsement of COVID-19-related conspiracy theories on social media, including calls for people to stop wearing masks during the pandemic.
Following the guilty verdict, both the prosecutor and Jerinx’s defense team filed appeals to the Denpasar High Court, who reduced his sentence to 10 months instead.
Now Jerinx’s case is reportedly moving up to the Supreme Court.
“After we consulted Jerinx, because the prosecutor is submitting a cassation petition then we will also submit [one],” Jerinx’s legal representative, Wayan Gendo Suardana, said in a statement.
“Jerinx should not have been convicted and what he deserves is to be free.”
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