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EMARANG: Pujiono Cahyono Widianto, or Syech Puji, stood his first trail Thursday at the Ungaran District Court, Central Java.

Prosecutors indicted the 43-year-old cleric for illegally marrying 12-year-old Lutfiana Ulfa, as stipulated by the Article 88 of the 2002 Law on Child Protection and article 290 of the Criminal Code. Both articles carry a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment.

Pujiono's lawyer Otto Cornelis Kaligis refused to comment after the hearing session.

During the closed-door hearing, dozens of activists were rallying outside the courthouse. Some were women and children's activists, while others were Puji's followers.

An activist from the Legal Resources Center for Gender and Human Rights, Evarisam, said he protested the privacy of trial.