Balinese punk rock icon I Gede Ari Astina, who is more commonly known as Jerinx, today defended a social media post that was allegedly defamatory towards the Balinese chapter of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI).
The 43-year-old said the post was a form of criticism and that he had no intention of insulting the healthcare professionals.
“I want to make clear that I have no hate or intention to destroy or hurt friends at IDI. This is 100 percent criticism,” Jerinx said as he fulfilled a police summon in Denpasar today.
“I think what I did was correct, because I had no negative or bad intention. What I did was purely [express] criticism as a citizen of this country,” he continued, further explaining that he’s speaking on behalf of the public and not out of personal hatred towards IDI.
IDI Bali filed an official complaint against the Superman is Dead (SID) drummer on June 16 over the latter’s Instagram post, in which he derided the association for requiring pregnant women to take COVID-19 tests before labor.
“Because they are proud of being pawns of the WHO, IDI and hospitals feel they can just mandate COVID-19 testing on those giving birth,” part of the post read.
IDI Bali Chairman I Gede Putra Suteja said the association “felt insulted” by Jerinx’s post.
Under Indonesia’s Information and Electronic Transactions Act (UU ITE), Jerinx could be charged with defamation, a crime punishable by up to four years in prison.
Jerinx — who has more than one million followers on Instagram — has been sharing conspiracy theories on matters related to COVID-19 since at least late March. He took part and promoted a protest against rapid and swab tests requirements last month, which saw dozens of people on the streets of Denpasar with no masks on.
Jerinx’s more recent posts on Instagram have called on people to stop wearing masks, despite large consensus from health experts around the world that masks can be helpful in reducing and even preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
As of Aug. 6, Bali has reported 3,644 COVID-19 cases, including 48 deaths.
