Playboy editor cleared of making 'indecent' profits

THE editor of Playboy Indonesia was today cleared of distributing indecent pictures to the public and making money from them after a high-profile trial that exposed deep divisions in the Muslim nation.

Erwin Arnada had argued the magazine was good for developing a pluralistic society, while the prosecution and Islamic hardliners, who have regularly attended his trial, said he had "harmed the nation's morals".

Efran Basuni, the presiding judge at the South Jakarta court, said the prosecution's arguments failed to take account of media laws, created after the 1998 downfall of President Suharto, that ushered in press freedom.

More than 200 Islamic hardliners, guarded by hundreds of policemenattended the trial.

The magazine's first edition sparked protests in Indonesia last April although it had no nudity and less flesh visible than many other magazines on sale in the country.

Subsequent editions of the magazine are still on sale in Indonesian cities despite attacks on its Jakarta office after the April launch. There has been no government move to ban it.

The controversy itself has faded after Playboy Indonesia moved operations to Bali, a Hindu enclave where conservative Islam has little clout.