Former Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, was jailed May 9 after being found guilty of blasphemy. He was sentenced to two years in prison despite prosecutors recommending two years’ probation on a lesser charge.
Basuki, a Christian, was defeated last month by Anies Baswedan, a former minister of education and culture, in an election in which the blasphemy case and religion were an issue. The blasphemy charge stemmed from the governor’s stated opposition to a campaign by Muslim hardliners who promoted that the Quran prohibited Muslims from voting for a non-Muslim. Basuki’s statements that this argument was misleading Muslims was interpreted as insulting the Quran.
The five-judge panel decided unanimously that Basuki “proved legally and convincingly guilty of committing the criminal act of blasphemy.”
The panel, led by Judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto, ignored the prosecution’s sentence demand of two years’ probation for insulting Muslim leaders and instead sentenced Ahok to two years in prison for blasphemy.
