Dewi Sukarno skips hearing

Dewi Sukarno skips hearing

JAKARTA: Ratna Sari Dewi Sukarno, wife of Indonesia's first
president Sukarno, failed to appear before a hearing on Thursday
to testify against a local journalist charged with violating
property rights law by publishing photographs of her from the
book Madame D'Syuga.

Prosecutor Abdul Kamar Badrun said Dewi and Hideki Fuji, the
book's photographer who took the photos of Dewi in various
sensual poses, were both unable to attend the hearing since they
are currently living in Tokyo.

They are now scheduled to appear at the Central Jakarta
District Court on March 5.

Defendant Warsito Wahono is being tried for allegedly
publishing Dewi's photographs illegally as part of an article in
Indonesia What's On magazine in 1998.

Dewi, whose real name is Naoko Nemoto, married Sukarno in
early 1960s. Since Sukarno's fall, she has lived in Tokyo and New
York.

Madame D'Syuga, published by Scholar Publisher's Inc. in 1993,
drew criticism here for "violating eastern norms and insulting
Indonesia's dignity". The Attorney General Office's decided to
ban the book in Indonesia after its publication. -- JP