Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The executive editors of Kompas and Sindo dailies, respectively Budiman Tanuredjo and Nevi Hetharia, fulfilled a police summons on Friday for questioning about transcripts of Anggodo Widjojo`s wiretapped conversations.

Budiman admitted that the summons had once been cancelled but it was issued again and after some communication he was willing to come to meet it.

"They needed information and therefore I came," he said.

The recording of the wiretapped conversations between Anggodo Widjojo and a number of law enforcement officials linked to the case of antigraft officials Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah had already been heard at a constitutional court session.

Budiman said the police had only asked for confirmation if Kompas had really published the transcript of the recording heard at the constitutional court.

"I said yes. And that is only what they asked," he said.

He said his explanation to the police was a common interview and not given for investigation purposes. "It was a mere common request for information," he said.
He said he did not know who had been the repporteur.

The police`s summons of the two media executive editors had drawn criticism from various parties who thought it was part of efforts to criminalize media.

Tens of journalists staged a demonstration at the entry gate of the national police headquarters to protest the summons.

The coordinator of the demonstration, Suparni, said he rejected the summons of media executives because journalistic jobs had nothing to do with the case of Anggodo Widjojo.

"The constitutional court has opened the recording to the public so what it has to do with media publication," she said.

The national police`s head of public relations division, Inspector General Nanan Soekarna meanwhile said that the summons was not for the favour of Anggodo Widjojo.

It was even for the purpose of formulating charges against Anggodo in connection with his wiretapped conversations with law enforcement officials, he said.

Nanan said the information from the media executives would strengthen the charges against Anggodo.

The police have been criticized for having not arrested Anggodo until now while people believed that he had fabricated a case to frame the antigraft officials.(*)