Activists accused of sowing hatred
JAKARTA (JP): State prosecutors yesterday accused three activists of sowing public hatred against the government, by distributing an unlicensed magazine highly critical of the current administration.
The three -- Ahmad Taufik, Eko Maryadi and Danang Kukuh Wardoyo -- were arraigned at the Central Jakarta District Court on charges of distributing the Independen magazine to the public.
The three were arrested at a post Idul Fitri get-together organized by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) at the Wisata International Hotel in Jakarta last March. Police caught them giving out copies of the magazine to guests.
The magazine was produced by AJI, an organization founded last year by journalists in reaction to the government's ban of three news magazines -- Tempo, Editor and DeTik -- in June 1994.
Ahmad and Eko, both former Tempo journalists, are being tried together, while Danang's case is being heard separately. All three were activists of AJI.
The three men were charged under Article 154 of the Criminal Code which cites sowing hatred and hostility among the public against the government. If found guilty, they face a maximum of seven years imprisonment.
The hearing drew a large crowd, including fellow journalists and noted human rights campaigners, such as Adnan Buyung Nasution and H.J.C. Princen. Former Tempo chief editor Goenawan Mohamad was also present as was former legislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas. Some embassies also sent representatives to observe the trial.
After the charges were read, the trial sessions were adjourned to June 27 to allow the defendants and their lawyers to present their defense statements.
Rita Serena Kalibonso, one of the lawyers representing Taufik and Eko, requested that the judges release the defendants from the police detention center and grant them house arrest status instead.
Their families are willing to guarantee that they will not try to escape and that they will appear at trial sessions as required by law.
She also cited procedural violations in the way the defendants were arrested in the first place.
The court previously agreed to a request from the parents of Danang that he be allowed out of jail to register and take the upcoming entrance test for state universities later this month. (imn)