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Prita Mulyasari, the mother of two from Tangerang who is facing a defamation suit filed by Omni International Hospital, delivered her defense before a district court on Thursday.

“My client did nothing against the law,” Prita’s defense team, led by lawyer Otto Cornelius Kaligis, told the three-judge panel at the Tangerang District Court. “All patients reserve the right to criticize a hospital. They also have the right to good treatment until recovery.”

In their opening statement, Prita’s lawyers said their client was “just an ordinary person who is ignorant of the law.”

“But as far as I am concerned, the law is made to defend human rights,” Prita told the court.

The 32-year-old mother has been the target of both civil and criminal complaints by the hospital for sending an e-mail message to friends telling them she had received unprofessional treatment at the hospital last August.

Two doctors at the hospital diagnosed Prita with dengue fever but the same doctors later told her she had mumps, after she had taken medication based on the previous false diagnosis.

Her story triggered public outrage after she was fined Rp 312 million ($31,000) in the civil trial and then jailed for three weeks ahead of her criminal trial that started last week.

“I didn’t mean to say bad things about someone else,” Prita told the court. “I only wrote my experience based on facts as ‘constructive criticism’ of the hospital.”

District prosecutors in Tangerang have charged Prita with defamation under the Criminal Code, and with violations of the Electronic Information and Transaction Law, which carries a maximum sentence of six years in jail.

“The prosecutors have intentionally used the Law on Electronic Information and Transactions just to put the defendant in detention. Your honor, we ask you to declare the indictment unlawful as it is inaccurate and without legal standing,” Kaligis told the court. “Accordingly, the defendant should be cleared of all charges.”

Prosecutor Riyadi, who was booed by members of the public seated in the packed gallery whenever he spoke, requested a week to prepare his response to the defense remarks.

“We stand firm with our indictment,” he said after the hearing. “We will give a response to the defense next week, for sure.”

Attorney General Hendarman Supandji earlier criticized the district prosecutors handling the case for being unprofessional by charging Prita under the Electronic Information and Transactions Law.

Kaligis said the district prosecutors acted under the influence of Omni International Hospital.

“My client was detained on May 13 and on May 18 they [prosecutors] got free medical service from Omni,” Kaligis told reporters. “I have reported this to the attorney general and said this alone was enough to counter the indictment.”