Indonesia revokes book-ban law

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Constitutional Court has struck down a law on book-banning that has been used to stifle dissent, in a landmark ruling welcomed by historians, authors and rights activists.

For more than 4 decades since the days of former President Suharto, the Attorney-General's office could unilaterally prohibit publication or distribution of books deemed "offensive" or a "threat to public order".

But the court ruled on Wednesday such power should rest with a judicial court.

"The sole authority of the Attorney-General to ban the distribution of printed materials without due process of law is a characteristic of an authoritarian state and not a law-based state like Indonesia," Constitutional Justice Muhammad Alim said, the Jakarta Post reported.

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