Playboy editor released from jail

The long-running case has highlighted the growing militancy of a vocal fringe wanting Islamic-based laws implemented in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Erwin Arnada, 48, was serving a two-year prison sentence after a legal battle that began in 2006 and saw him imprisoned last October when a lower court’s acquittal was overturned. “This is part of the history of the struggle for freedom of the press,” Arnada said as he left Cipinang prison in Jakarta.

When Playboy Indonesia hit news-stands in 2006, members of the hard-line Islamic Defenders Front attacked its offices and filed a criminal complaint although Playboy was toned down for Indonesia with pictures less risque than magazines sold on street corners.