A minority Christian Governor of Jakarta Indonesia has been sentanced to 2 years in prison for blaspheming the Quran. Here is the article in USA Today;
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...emy/101458040/
JAKARTA, Indonesia - An Indonesian court on Tuesday sentenced the minority Christian governor of Jakarta to two years in prison for blaspheming the Quran, a shock decision that undermines the country’s reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.
The five-judge panel said Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama was “convincingly proven guilty of blasphemy” and ordered his arrest.
He was taken to Cipinang Prison in east Jakarta, said one of his lawyers, Ronny Talampessy. Ahok said he would appeal but it was unclear if he would be released once an appeal was underway.
Outside the court, supporters of Ahok wept and hugged each other amid shouts of jubilation from members of conservative Islamic groups.
“Here we have witnessed that the judge has become a representative of God, that the judge has upheld justice,” said Syamsu Hilal, a member of an anti-blasphemy group who reported Ahok to police last year.
Massive protests in the past six months against Ahok and Tuesday’s verdict are among mounting signs of an increasing religious conservatism in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, which has been traditionally been seen as a bulwark of tolerance and pluralism in the Islamic world.
Vigilante groups frequently attempt with impunity to prevent Indonesia’s religious minorities from practicing their faith and the country’s gay community has faced a surge in persecution in the past two years.
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