Wednesday, May 10, 2017 9:06:45 PM
Protests in Jakarta after Christian governor convicted of blasphemy
"Jakarta violence: One dead after hardline Muslims protest, demand Christian governor Ahok be jailed"
Religious tolerance under scrutiny as court sentences Basuki Tjahaja Purnama – nicknamed Ahok – to two years in prison
People attend a rally in Jakarta to show support for Basuki Tjahaja Purnama,
known by his nickname Ahok. Photograph: Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images
Kate Lamb in Jakarta
Wednesday 10 May 2017 21.32 AEST
Last modified on Wednesday 10 May 2017 23.13 AEST
The jailing of Jakarta’s Christian governor on blasphemy charges has sparked outrage from his supporters in Indonesia .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/indonesia , rights organisations and the EU.
On Tuesday, a court in the capital of the world’s largest Muslim-majority country found Basuki Tjahaja Purnama – better known by his nickname Ahok – guilty of blasphemy, sentencing him to two years in prison .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/09/jakarta-governor-ahok-found-guilty-of-blasphemy-jailed-for-two-years .
“The EU has consistently stated that laws that criminalise blasphemy when applied in a discriminatory manner can have a serious inhibiting effect on freedom of expression and on freedom of religion or belief,” the EU delegation to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam said in a statement posted on its website.
The Jakarta-based rights group the Setara Institute described the verdict as a “trial by mob”, while the British ambassador to Indonesia, Moazzam Malik, who is Muslim, tweeted a message of support.
-
Moazzam Malik
@MoazzamTMalik
I know Ahok. Admire his wk for Jkt. Believe he isn't antiMuslim. Praying for BuVero&kids. Leaders must step up to protect tolerance&harmony.
12:58 PM - 10 May 2017
-
At City Hall on Wednesday morning, an estimated 1,000 people wearing red and white, Indonesia’s national colours, gathered for a spontaneous choir performance in support of Ahok.
Conducted by the musician Addie MS, the crowd sang the national anthem, Indonesia Raya, and Pancasila Garuda, a song about Indonesia’s founding principles of unity and diversity.
-
[VIDEO]
Feby Litamahuputty @AnnaFeby
When words fail, music speaks #paduansuarabalaikota #ahok #saveahok #peace #nkrihargamati #garudapancasila
12:01 PM - 10 May 2017
-
Others registered their opposition to the verdict and sentencing by tweeting under the hashtag #RIPHukumIndonesia, which means “rest in peace Indonesian law”.
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The Ahok case .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/12/jakarta-governor-ahoks-blasphemy-trial-all-you-need-to-know .. has been watched closely as a marker of the commitment to religious tolerance and pluralism in Indonesia, where religious hardliners have been playing an increasingly prominent role in politics.
In an unusual move, the panel of five judges on Tuesday dismissed the prosecutor’s recommendations to drop the initial blasphemy charges due to insufficient evidence.
Prosecutors had recommended the governor instead face a sentence of two years’ probation, and one year in jail if he reoffended. But the judges – citing among others the “expert” opinion of an Islamic vigilante group leader – said they found the minority governor convincingly guilty of blasphemy, incarcerating him for two years.
Ahok for months faced the wrath of hardline Islamists after he cited a Qur’anic verse on the campaign trail last September. The verse, he said, had been manipulated by some religious leaders to justify the claim the Muslims should not vote for non-Muslim leaders.
Uproar over an edited version of the speech that went viral spilled into a series of angry mass rallies spearheaded by Islamists since late last year, and has catalysed the deepening of religious and ethnic divides in the capital.
Some observers argue that religious hardliners may have swayed the Indonesian judiciary.
International human rights organisations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said the verdict would tarnish Indonesia’s reputation for religious tolerance and pluralism, and urged the country to repeal its “unjust” blasphemy law. Ahok has indicated he will appeal against the ruling.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/10/jakarta-protests-christian-governor-ahok-guilty-blasphemy
==
Ahok verdict: Mob politics brings down Jakarta's Christian governor
Analysis
By Indonesia correspondent Adam Harvey
Posted Wed at 12:25am
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-10/jakartas-christian-governor-brought-down-by-mob-politics/8512188
"Jakarta violence: One dead after hardline Muslims protest, demand Christian governor Ahok be jailed"
Religious tolerance under scrutiny as court sentences Basuki Tjahaja Purnama – nicknamed Ahok – to two years in prison
People attend a rally in Jakarta to show support for Basuki Tjahaja Purnama,
known by his nickname Ahok. Photograph: Bay Ismoyo/AFP/Getty Images
Kate Lamb in Jakarta
Wednesday 10 May 2017 21.32 AEST
Last modified on Wednesday 10 May 2017 23.13 AEST
The jailing of Jakarta’s Christian governor on blasphemy charges has sparked outrage from his supporters in Indonesia .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/indonesia , rights organisations and the EU.
On Tuesday, a court in the capital of the world’s largest Muslim-majority country found Basuki Tjahaja Purnama – better known by his nickname Ahok – guilty of blasphemy, sentencing him to two years in prison .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/09/jakarta-governor-ahok-found-guilty-of-blasphemy-jailed-for-two-years .
“The EU has consistently stated that laws that criminalise blasphemy when applied in a discriminatory manner can have a serious inhibiting effect on freedom of expression and on freedom of religion or belief,” the EU delegation to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam said in a statement posted on its website.
The Jakarta-based rights group the Setara Institute described the verdict as a “trial by mob”, while the British ambassador to Indonesia, Moazzam Malik, who is Muslim, tweeted a message of support.
-
Moazzam Malik
@MoazzamTMalik
I know Ahok. Admire his wk for Jkt. Believe he isn't antiMuslim. Praying for BuVero&kids. Leaders must step up to protect tolerance&harmony.
…Sy knl @basuki_btp Mengagumi kerjanya u/ Jkt. Percaya dia tdk antiIslam. Doa sy u/ Bu Vero&kel. Para pemimpin hrs mnjaga toleransi&kerukunan
— Moazzam Malik (@MoazzamTMalik) May 9, 2017
12:58 PM - 10 May 2017
-
At City Hall on Wednesday morning, an estimated 1,000 people wearing red and white, Indonesia’s national colours, gathered for a spontaneous choir performance in support of Ahok.
Conducted by the musician Addie MS, the crowd sang the national anthem, Indonesia Raya, and Pancasila Garuda, a song about Indonesia’s founding principles of unity and diversity.
-
[VIDEO]
Feby Litamahuputty @AnnaFeby
When words fail, music speaks #paduansuarabalaikota #ahok #saveahok #peace #nkrihargamati #garudapancasila
12:01 PM - 10 May 2017
-
Others registered their opposition to the verdict and sentencing by tweeting under the hashtag #RIPHukumIndonesia, which means “rest in peace Indonesian law”.
Advertisement
The Ahok case .. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/12/jakarta-governor-ahoks-blasphemy-trial-all-you-need-to-know .. has been watched closely as a marker of the commitment to religious tolerance and pluralism in Indonesia, where religious hardliners have been playing an increasingly prominent role in politics.
In an unusual move, the panel of five judges on Tuesday dismissed the prosecutor’s recommendations to drop the initial blasphemy charges due to insufficient evidence.
Prosecutors had recommended the governor instead face a sentence of two years’ probation, and one year in jail if he reoffended. But the judges – citing among others the “expert” opinion of an Islamic vigilante group leader – said they found the minority governor convincingly guilty of blasphemy, incarcerating him for two years.
Ahok for months faced the wrath of hardline Islamists after he cited a Qur’anic verse on the campaign trail last September. The verse, he said, had been manipulated by some religious leaders to justify the claim the Muslims should not vote for non-Muslim leaders.
Uproar over an edited version of the speech that went viral spilled into a series of angry mass rallies spearheaded by Islamists since late last year, and has catalysed the deepening of religious and ethnic divides in the capital.
Some observers argue that religious hardliners may have swayed the Indonesian judiciary.
International human rights organisations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said the verdict would tarnish Indonesia’s reputation for religious tolerance and pluralism, and urged the country to repeal its “unjust” blasphemy law. Ahok has indicated he will appeal against the ruling.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/10/jakarta-protests-christian-governor-ahok-guilty-blasphemy
==
Ahok verdict: Mob politics brings down Jakarta's Christian governor
Analysis
By Indonesia correspondent Adam Harvey
Posted Wed at 12:25am
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-10/jakartas-christian-governor-brought-down-by-mob-politics/8512188
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
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