Danang completes jail term

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)