Indonesia: HRW slams Indonesian ruling on Ahmadi attack

“It’s outrageous that the prosecutors asked for a reduction in sentences on the basis that the Ahmadiyya filmed and distributed a video of the attack on their community. It is telling victims of serious crime that they should keep quiet rather than come forward.”

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: AlterNet | Trust.Org
By Thin Lei Win | July 28, 2011

BANGKOK (AlertNet) – The short sentences imposed on Indonesian Muslims who attacked followers of the minority Ahmadiyya sect in February, leaving three dead and five seriously injured, are “a setback for religious freedom in Indonesia”, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Thursday.

The rights group also called police investigation of the attack “woefully inadequate” and criticised both police and prosecutors for failing to present a compelling case against the accused.

On Thursday, the Serang district court in Java sentenced the 12 defendants to between three to six months in prison.


They were found guilty on a range of charges, including public incitement, illegal possession of sharp weapons, destruction of property, and attacking others causing serious injuries or death.

Assault resulting in death carries a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison, yet none of the defendants were charged with murder or manslaughter, HRW said.

February’s attack on the Ahmadiyya community in Cikeusik village, in western Java’s Banten province, was captured on video and posted on the internet.

“The Cikeusik trial sends the chilling message that attacks on minorities like the Ahmadiyya will be treated lightly by the legal system,” said Elaine Pearson, HRW's deputy Asia director.

At the trial, which began on April 26, prosecutors only recommended sentences of up to seven months, saying the Ahmadis partly provoked the assault and then filmed it, according to HRW.

“It’s outrageous that the prosecutors asked for a reduction in sentences on the basis that the Ahmadiyya filmed and distributed a video of the attack on their community,” Pearson said. “It is telling victims of serious crime that they should keep quiet rather than come forward.”

The Ahmadis are followers of a minority sect founded in the 19th century. They believe there have been other prophets of Islam since its founder Mohammad, although he is regarded as the most important.

Mainstream Muslims consider them heretical, and they face increasing threats of violence in many countries including Pakistan and Indonesia. HRW says some 200,000 Indonesians follow the faith.

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