A governor in Indonesia has been sentenced to 2 years
imprisonment for insulting Islam.
The outgoing governor of Jakarta, Indonesia has been
sentenced to two years in prison for blasphemy and inciting violence.
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, was the
first ethnic Chinese Christian to run Indonesia’s capital, and the case was
seen as a test of the country’s religious tolerance.
Ahok was said to have insulted Islam by referring to a verse
in the Koran during a campaign speech.
According to the BBC, Ahok denied blasphemy and in court
said he would mount an appeal.
The sentence is harsher than most observers had expected –
prosecutors had called for a suspended one-year sentence.
The judge had told the court that the governor was “found to
have legitimately and convincingly conducted a criminal act of blasphemy, and because
of that we have imposed two years of imprisonment.”
Ahok was said to have made blasphemy comments during a
pre-election speech last September.
He implied that Islamic leaders were trying to trick voters
by using a verse in the Koran to argue that Muslims should not vote for a
non-Muslim leader.
His remarks, which were widely shared in an edited video,
sparked outrage among religious hardliners.
They staged regular large rallies calling for him to face
trial.
Throughout the trial, Mr Purnama denied wrongdoing, but did
apologise for his comments nonetheless.
Ahead of the verdict, protesters for and against Mr Purnama
had gathered outside the court demanding respectively his acquittal or a long
prison sentence.
Disappointed with the eventual verdict, some protesters
demanded the outgoing governor to be hanged.
Around 15,000 security personnel from the police and
military are providing security at the scene, with riot police and armoured
vehicles separating the rival groups.
Mr Purnama became governor after his predecessor, Joko
“Jokowi” Widodo, was elected president in 2014.
As an ethnic Chinese Indonesian and Christian he is a double
minority, and was Jakarta’s first non-Muslim governor for 50 years.
His political success was also seen as a significant development
given the violent anti-Chinese riots that occurred in the city in 1998.
Before the blasphemy allegations, he had been widely hailed
as a straight-talking politician with a strong anti-corruption stance
But the controversy overshadowed scheduled elections last
month.
Despite his enduring popularity with many in Jakarta for his
efforts to improve living standards, he lost to conservative Muslim candidate
Anies Rasyid Baswedan.
Indonesia is the world’s most-populous Muslim country. About
85% of its population are Muslim, but the country officially respects six
religions.
By John Owen Nwachukwu
