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