MANOHARA MAY TAKE HER CASE TO INTERNATIONAL COURT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, June 2 (ANTARA) - Lawyers of Manohara Adelia Pinot, wife of Klantan Prince Tenku Muhammad Fakhry Petra, who managed to escape to Indonesia, after reportedly being abused by her husband, will report her case to an international court.

        "We will take the case to an international court as the violence took place in Malaysia," Manohara's laywer, OC Kaligis, said here on Tuesday.

        Kaligis said he had assigned a team of doctors to perform a medical examination on Manohara. "The doctors are now ready. We agreed yesterday that a medical examination will soon be carried out but Mahohara's mother was still very busy facing interviews with TV stations," he said.

        After the examination, he and Manohara will report the case to the competent authorities. "We will report to the police who handle domestic violence cases," OC Kaligis said.

        He said his client will take the case to an international court because the place of the violence was in Malaysia.

        Previously, Mohd Soberi Safii, a friend of Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, challenged Manohara and her mother Deasy Fajriah to report to the police and go through a medical examination to prove their accusations that Manohara had been abused by her husband Tengku Muhammad Fakhry Petra.

        "I will fully guarantee that nothing will happen if Manohara and her mother are willing to report to the Malaysian police. We also want justice," Soberi Safii said in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

        Manohara, who married the Klantan Sultan's son, has in recent days been widely reported in the Indonesian media to have been 'locked up' by her husband and not allowed to meet her mother in Indonesia.

        Manohara said her escape to Indonesia was thanks to the assistance of the United States Embassy and the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore as well as the Singapore police so that she was able to sneak out from the Royal Hotel where the Sultan's family was staying during a visit for medical treatment.

        "Their guards tried to find and catch me but they were afraid of having their actions recorded by the escalator's camera that would leave their tracks so they let me go," she said when asked how she managed to avoid the Klantan Sultan's guards.

        In the meantime, the Indonesian government is ready to facilitate if Manohara decides to use the legal channel to solve her case. "If Manohara takes her case to the court, we will assist her," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Tengku Faizasyah said on Sunday.

        He said that if Manohara's case was taken to court it would of course have to be registered with the Malaysian court, and therefore the foreign ministry would provide a diplomatic channel facility to assist her.

        The foreign ministry spokesman said the Manohara's case was a family affair. If she wanted to file a lawsuit against domestic violence she should have evidence.

        Manohara's case also gained attention from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Yudhoyono said he always paid attention to the fate of Indonesian citizens, including former model Manohara.

        "I am always cautious about family or household affairs. If one marries and meets a problem, it's not a president's business to interfere. Because, then one will ask where is freedom, where is democracy. But because this (Manohara's case) has become a public issue, don't think that I don't care," the president said before leaving Jeju, South Korea, for Jakarta on Tuesday.

        After learning about the Manohara case from infotainment, the president said, he ordered the Indonesian ambassador in Malaysia, Dai Bachtiar, to deliver a letter to the Malaysian foreign ministry to express the Indonesian government's objections and concern about what had happened to Manohara.

        "I have asked the foreign minister and the Indonesian ambassador to handle the matter in the best possible way and draw a clear line between familial affairs and human rights where there is room to interfere," he said.

        He said he received a report on Monday about the incident in Singapore in which Manohara managed to escape to Indonesia.

        "Because Manohara is an Indonesian citizen, I, as a head of state, have to be concerned. So, indeed at the state and government levels we certainly have an obligation to act," he said.

        The government has the intention to help and protect its citizens when they receive bad treatment. Personal matters should be returned to them.

        "One should not look at the matter from the entertainment aspect only," the president said.

        In the near future, House Commission I for foreign affairs will hold a meeting with the Malaysian parliament to discuss issues implicating Indonesian citizens in Malaysia, including Mahohara.

        "Commission I will soon hold a meeting with the Malaysian parliament in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the issue. Now we are seeking a schedule comfortable for both sides," Happy Bone, a member of the House Commission I said. (T.A014/A/HAJM/B003) 2. 23:20. (T.A014/A/A014/B003) 02-06-2009 23:32:17