JAKARTA (Reuters) – The editor of Playboy Indonesia and two models whose pictures appeared in the magazine’s first edition are being investigated for violating indecency laws, police said on Friday.
The magazine’s first edition sparked protests in Indonesia in April although it had no nudity. Less flesh was visible in the issue than many other magazines on sale in the world’s most populous Muslim country.
Jakarta police spokesman Ketut Untung Yoga said models Andara Early and Kartika Gunawan had posed indecently in the edition, which was issued from the Indonesian capital, and editor-in-chief Erwin Arnada should also be held responsible.
"There are three suspects. Each will be processed based on their roles. Many more may come," he said.
Under Indonesian law, declaring somebody a suspect is a stage before formal charges are filed.
Yoga said under laws banning public indecency offenders face a maximum penalty of 32 months in jail.
Earlier this month, Playboy Indonesia ran its second edition despite attacks on their Jakarta office after the April launch.
The June issue had no advertisements and was issued from Bali, a Hindu enclave where conservative Islam has little clout.
Arnada wrote in it that Playboy was good for Indonesia.
"The absence of a growing monopoly of a set of values and views in our beloved country in the end is our final purpose. We believe that is also the target of all of us who live with reason and want to understand the meaning of democracy and a pluralistic society," his editorial said.
Gunawan told local media she did not regret posing for Playboy because it was a legal publication.
"If it is halal, why not take it," the Jakarta Post quoted her as saying. Halal is an Islamic term for permissible.
Jakarta police have said they want Playboy to hold off publishing again until they investigate accusations it might have violated laws such as indecency statutes.
Around 100,000 copies of the second edition have already been distributed in Java and Bali islands. Jakarta police has no jurisdiction over the second issue due to Playboy’s move to Bali.
Indonesia has 220 million people, about 85 percent of whom are Muslim.