Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Indonesia: Attorney General's Office anounces Jakarta Governor Ahok to face court on blasphemy charges


The AGO will first need to file the indictments against Mr Basuki at a district court for a senior judge to appoint a panel of three judges to hear the case.

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: Straits Times
By Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja | November 30, 2016

JAKARTA - Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Basuki Tjahaja Purnama will be charged in court for blasphemy, said Indonesia's Attorney- General's Office (AGO) on Wednesday (Nov 30).

Mr Noor Rachmad, who is Deputy Attorney-General for Crimes, told reporters during a press conference that the AGO studied the case dossier put together by the police, and concluded that Mr Basuki has a case to answer for in court.

He said facts revealed in police investigations found that the politician had breached clauses 156 and 156 (a) of the Criminal Code, which covers blasphemy offences.

He did not say when Mr Basuki will have to appear in court but added that the AGO will "prepare and complete the indictments for this case as soon as possible".

If found guilty of blasphemy, Mr Basuki, who is better known as Ahok, faces a maximum jail term of five years.

The Straits Times understands that the AGO will first need to file the indictments against Mr Basuki at a district court for a senior judge to appoint a panel of three judges to hear the case.

This means it could take weeks before the case eventually is heard in court.

In the meantime, Mr Basuki has vowed to carry on his campaign. Lawyers have said he can continue in the election, and should he win but is convicted, he will remain in office until the court appeal process has been exhausted.

The 50-year-old is in a three-way contest as he seeks to be re-elected as Jakarta governor in February next year.

Initially a hot favourite for the poll, he has seen his popularity drop after a video clip of him talking to a group of constituents in September was posted online. In the video, he allegedly told them not to be misled by his opponents who cited a verse in the Quran to urge Muslims not to vote for a non-Muslim.

Despite apologising, his remarks incensed hardline Muslim groups such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which staged a large-scale protest to call for his arrest earlier this month, following a smaller street march last month.

The FPI has planned another street rally on Friday and promised to mobilise even more than the 100,000 said to have attended the public protest on Nov 4.

The group, however, has brokered a deal with the police to  hold rallies in the confines of the National Monument park in Jakarta instead.

tkchan@sph.com.sg
wahyudis@sph.com.sg



Read original post here: Indonesia: Attorney General's Office anounces Jakarta Governor Ahok to face court on blasphemy charges


This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Times of Ahmad. Times of Ahmad is not an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.

Top read stories during last 7 days

Disclaimer!

THE TIMES OF AHMAD is NOT an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites. Times of Ahmad is an independently run and privately managed news / contents archival website; and does not claim to speak for or represent the official views of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The Times of Ahmad assumes full responsibility for the contents of its web pages. The views expressed by the authors and sources of the news archives do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Times of Ahmad. All rights associated with any contents archived / stored on this website remain the property of the original owners.