Amnesty International has called for the immediate and unconditional release of an Indonesian man detained for professing atheism, calling his imprisonment a serious setback for freedom of expression in Indonesia.
.... A court in the Muaro district of West Sumatra on Thursday sentenced 30-year-old Alexander Aan, a civil servant from Pulau Punjung subdistrict, to 30 months in jail and a fine of Rp 100 million ($10,600) for violating the Electronic Information and Transaction Law. He was charged with “disseminating information aimed at inciting religious hatred or hostility” under that law and also of religious blasphemy under the Criminal Code.
Alexander was reportedly an active member of the Minang atheist Facebook group. He allegedly posted statements and pictures that some construed as insulting to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. [Jakarta Globe] Read more
