Aditjondro was born in
Pekalongan,
Central Java and began his career as a journalist for
Tempo Magazine. From 1994 to 1995, he became widely known as a critic of President
Suharto's government over corruption and
East Timor. He left Indonesia for
Australia for seven years and was banned by Soeharto's regime in March 1998. He became a sociology lecturer at the
University of Newcastle. Previously, he taught at the
Satya Wacana Christian University in Indonesia. On his return from Australia, he wrote several controversial books. In December 2009, during the launch of his book
Dismantling Cikeas Octopus, Aditjondro was accused of assault against , a member of parliament from the
Democratic Party. Ex-president of Indonesia
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed his concerns regarding the contents of the book. Soon, the book was taken off the shelves across the nation. ==Death==