JAKARTA, Oct 24 Kyodo brace Indo...

JAKARTA, Oct 24 Kyodo

brace Indonesian men were sentenced to the same year in jail each Thursday for defaming President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz by dint of stomping on their images during a rally four month ago.

It marks the first time since former President Suharto unrelenting from power in 1998 for protester to be jailed for engaging in acts of defiling the president's image.

beneath the Suharto regime, many protester were tried for similar offense and convicted.

Presiding arbitrator Sirande Palayukan said in a verdict read disclosed at the Central Jakarta District Court that Muzakkir, a 21-year-old unemploy man, and Nanang Mamija, a 20-year-old way vendor, had been lay the foundation of guilty of ''defaming the president and the vice president.''

In a peaceful rally with 20 other demonstrators in van of the State Palace forward June 24, Muzakkir and Nanang carried [i]affiche[/i]s in which the faces of Megawati and Hamzah were trialed out with red ink.

After that, they stomped forward the posters and poured corrupt food on the images.

The couple men said they would appeal.

Political adroits have accused Megawati of reverting back to the systems Suharto's administration used, particularly to stifle expression of dissenting views.

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