Shock sentence comes after hardline Islamist groups called for Christian official to be jailed for referencing Qur’an verse.
Jakarta’s Christian governor has been sentenced to two years in prison after a trial that was widely seen as a measure of religious pluralism in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country.
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, was “found to have legitimately and convincingly conducted a criminal act of blasphemy, and because of that we have imposed two years of imprisonment”, the head judge, Dwiarso Budi Santiarto, told the court.
“As part of a religious society, the defendant should be careful to not use words with negative connotations regarding the symbols of religions, including the religion of the defendant himself.”
Another judge, Abdul Rosyad, said reasons for the stiff sentence included that “the defendant did not feel guilt, the defendant’s act has caused anxiety and hurt Muslims”. [The Guardian] Read more
