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Mochtar Lubis (1922–2004) was an Indonesian Batak journalist and novelist who co-founded Indonesia Raya and monthly literary magazine Horison. His novel Senja di Jakarta (Twilight in Jakarta in English) was the first Indonesian novel to be translated into English. Born on Sumatra, he began writing as a child, with his children's stories published in a local newspaper. After spells as a teacher, a banker, and a translator for the occupying Japanese forces during World War II, he became a journalist after the country's independence in 1945. He was a critic of the first Indonesian president, Sukarno, who imprisoned him without a trial from 1957 to 1966. He was also imprisoned for a few months by President Suharto in 1975. He spoke out frequently in favour of press freedom in the country.Photograph: Rob Bogaerts; restoration: Chris Woodrich