Indonesia prosecutors seek 2 years probation for Jakarta gov

Indonesia prosecutors seek 2 years probation for Jakarta gov


4 photos
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Prosecutors on Thursday recommended two years of probation for the minority Christian governor of the Indonesian capital during his trial for blaspheming the Quran.

The relatively light sentencing demand was made a day after Gov. Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama was swept out of office by a landslide election victory for a Muslim rival backed by conservative clerics.

The maximum penalty for blasphemy in Muslim-majority Indonesia is five years in prison. Prosecutors recommended one year prison if Ahok violates his probation.

Ahok was accused of blasphemy last year when a video surfaced of him telling voters they were being deceived if they believed a specific verse in the Quran prohibited Muslims from electing a non-Muslim as leader.

Hard-line Islamic groups attracted hundreds of thousands to anti-Ahok protests in Jakarta, shaking the government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and undermining Indonesia's reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.

Ahok's lawyers will present his final defense next week and a verdict from the five-judge panel is expected in early May.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos

Most recent Religion stories

Related topics

Religion
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast