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Legal Action
March 27
Ahmad Taufik, Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), LEGAL ACTION
Eko Maryadi, AJI, LEGAL ACTION
The Indonesian Supreme Court upheld the prison sentences of AJI president Taufik and AJI member Maryadi. The two journalists were arrested on March 16, 1995, and convicted on Sept. 1, 1995, of violating Article 19 of the Press Law, which prohibits the publication of an unlicensed newspaper or magazine, and Article 154 of the Criminal Code, which bars the expression of "feelings of hostility, hatred, or contempt toward the government." They were sentenced to 32 months in prison each--terms that were later extended to three years. The Supreme Court also upheld the 20-month sentence of Danang Kukuh Wardoyo, an AJI office assistant who was convicted on the same charges as the two journalists. CPJ expressed its dismay regarding the Supreme Court's verdict in a letter to President Suharto, and reiterated its demand for the AJI members' immediate release. Taufik is one of CPJ's 1995 International Press Freedom awardees.
June 13
Tempo, LEGAL ACTION, CENSORED
The Supreme Court upheld a June 1994 ban on the weekly magazine Tempo, reversing two lower court decisions that ruled in favor of Tempo publisher Goenawan Mohamad. Mohamad had filed suit on Oct. 7, 1994, against Information Minister Harmoko alleging that Harmoko had wrongfully revoked Tempo's publishing license, forcing it to close. In banning the weekly, the Information Ministry had declared its articles about political corruption to be incompatible with a "healthy" and "responsible press." The Ministry also accused Tempo of failing to adhere to national press guidelines and disregarding prior government warnings. The banning of Tempo, which was Indonesia's largest circulation newsmagazine at the time of its closure, prompted widespread protest demonstrations throughout the country and sparked international condemnation.
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