Maryadi, a member of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), was arrested along with several others at an AJI gathering. He was convicted on Sept. 1 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.” The charges stemmed from articles in AJI’s unlicensed newsmagazine Independen [sic] that dealt with topics such as the succession to President Suharto and the personal wealth of the country’s leaders. Maryadi’s 32-month sentence was increased on Oct. 11 to 36 months in prison, following a closed appeal hearing.