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May 10th, 2017 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Jakarta’s Chinese – Christian governor Basuki Tjahaya Purnama a.k.a. Ahok has been sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of blasphemy. The case has attracted international attention and is widely perceived as a litmus test for Indonesia’s alleged religious tolerance.
The court slammed Ahok with an even harsher sentence than sought by prosecutors. The court convicted the governor of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta less than a month after he lost his election in a bid to stay in office. The trial in the world’s largest Muslim majority country attracted international attention. During the sentencing the judges claimed that:
“The defendant Basuki Tjahaya Purnama, alias Ahok, (was) proven to be legitimate and convincingly guilty of committing a criminal act of blasphemy, and imprisonment for two years.”
In April 2017 the prosecutor called for the blasphemy counts to be dropped in exchange for a lesser charge of “spreading hate”. However, the judges Tuesday appeared to have ignored that recommendation.
Ahok was put on trial in December over accusations that he insulted Islam while campaigning on one of the islands near the capital of Jakarta. He quoted a verse in the Quran to prove to his supporters that there were no restrictions on Muslims voting for non-Muslim politicians. His statement was edited and widely spread in social media, triggering demonstrations and even threats against him during the local election campaign.
Shortly after the verdict Ahok stressed “We will appeal.” He was immediately rushed out of the court room, but it is currently not known whether he was directly detained or not. In the verdict, the judges also claimed that the case has nothing to do with the local election. “This case is purely criminal, has nothing to do with the elections,” said the panel of judges chaired by Dwiarso Budisantiarto.
The Constitution of Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim majority country where 87 percent of the population are Muslims, stipulates that the country is secular and the constitution protects six major religions without any special status to Islam. However, the “blasphemy” law in Indonesia is comparable only to similar, Sharia-based laws in countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and other predominantly Islamic countries.
nsnbc international editor-in-chief Christof Lehmann noted that it would be difficult to find a Christian, Buddhist, Hindu or secular majority country where one could land a politician two years behind bars on “blasphemy charges”.
Lehmann added that this ruling doesn’t only show religious intolerance in Indonesia. He added that “internationally, this case should be a sobering lesson for people in regions like Europe who buy into pro-Sharia rhetoric disseminated by religious zealots who denounce those who warn against Islamist intolerance as intolerant and as oppressing minorities”.
F/AK & CH/L – nsnbc 09.05.2017
Related article:
Will the new Jakarta governor be firm against hardline religious groups?
Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/05/09/jakarta-governor-sentenced-to-2-years-for-blasphemy/
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