The former governor of Indonesia's capital will be released from prison on Thursday, nearly two years after being jailed for blasphemy against Islam.
And Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who is commonly known as Ahok, is widely tipped to re-enter Indonesian politics – though that is unlikely to happen until after the April 17 presidential election, according to his long-time friend and human rights campaigner Andreas Harsono.
Ahok, who is an ethnically Chinese Christian, took over as governor of Jakarta when Joko Widodo was elected President in 2014.
In September 2016, Ahok was accused of blasphemy after he suggested a verse of the Koran did not state that Muslims could not be led by a non-Muslim.
The comments triggered sprawling, violent street protests by hardline Islamists, a high-profile trial, Ahok's shock conviction in May 2017, and struck a blow against pluralism and tolerance in Indonesia that is still being felt more than two years later.
Harsono, who is a researcher for Human Rights Watch Indonesia, suggested Ahok would not quit politics but that "we are in a wait-and-see moment" and that an immediate return was unlikely. [The Sydney Morning Herald] Read more
