Danang completes jail term

JAKARTA (JP): Danang Kukuh Wardoyo, an office worker of the unlicensed Independen magazine, regained his freedom yesterday after completing 20 months in prison.

"Strangely enough, I felt a tinge of sadness when I walked out of the Tangerang penitentiary, leaving behind the routine that seemed like eternity," Danang said yesterday at a small celebration thrown by colleagues for him at Tempo Cafe.

His first priority is now to go to his home village in Pare, Kediri regency in East Java, to see his parents, he said. "They know I am not guilty of any shameful acts."

Danang is one of three Independen staff convicted for their roles in producing and distributing copies of Independen last year. They were all found guilty of sowing hatred against the government through the magazine. The other two were journalists Ahmad Taufik and Eko Maryadi, each currently serving a three-year jail term.

Danang spent the last 20 months in four different places: a cell at Jakarta Police Headquarters, and in penitentiaries at Pondok Bambu, Salemba and Tangerang.

The magazine was published by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) which was established in 1994 after the banning of three Indonesian newsweeklies Tempo, DeTik and Editor.

AJI leaders said they were looking for a scholarship for Danang whose detention has prevented him from going to university.

"We feel that it is our responsibility to look for a scholarship because he went to jail for our cause," an AJI member said.

Former Tempo editor Fikri Jufri, who was present at the homecoming ceremony, congratulated Danang for having passed "one of life's difficult exams." (14)