Prosecutors seek lighter sentence in blasphemy case of Christian governor of Jakarta

Indonesian prosecutors have reportedly dropped the blasphemy case against the Christian governor of Jakarta and are now calling on the court to sentence him to face two years' probation instead.

Ba­suki "Ahok" Tja­haja Pur­nama, who recently lost the gubernatorial election to his Muslim rival Anies Baswedan, had been facing a politically charged trial for allegedly insulting Islam after he quoted a Quranic verse during a campaign rally in September.

During the hearing at the North Jakarta District Court on Thursday, the prosecutors decided to drop the blasphemy charges against him, but they recommended for Purnama to be sentenced to two years' probation if he is found guilty of Ar­ti­cle 156 of the Crim­i­nal Code (KUHP) on show­ing animos­ity to­ward oth­ers.

"We de­mand the judges rule two years' pro­ba­tion and one year of im­pris­on­ment if the pro­ba­tion is bro­ken," said pros­e­cu­tor Ali Mukar-tono, according to The Jakarta Post.

The prosecutors admitted on Thursday that they could not prove that Purnama had insulted Islam as a whole, but only individual Muslims.

They decided to drop the accusations that the Christian governor had vi­o­lated Ar­ti­cle 156a of the KUHP, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The prosecutors noted that Purnama had been cooperative during the legal process. They also cited the governor's contributions to developing Indonesia's capital as a mitigating factor in calling for a reduced sentence for him.

However, the prosecutors said that Purnama was guilty of show­ing an­i­mos­ity to­ward Mus­lims by quoting Su­rah Al Maidah 51, which was often used by Muslim political groups to tell Muslims not to vote for political candidates who adhere to other faiths.

They contended that the Christian governor insulted Muslims because he acted as if he had the correct understanding of the verse, which they said had various interpretations, even among Muslims.

"The de­fen­dant acted as if his in­ter­pre­ta­tion is cor­rect and said peo­ple who be­lieve other in­ter­pre­ta­tions were be­ing tricked," said pros­e­cu­tor Ardito Muwardi.

The prosecutors further noted that Purnama was not the only one to blame in the case. They also cited Buni Yani, who is suspected of uploading an edited video of Purnama's speech with a misleading transcription.

They said that the video led to the Purnama's blasphemy charges as well as the public uproar against the governor.

Religious hardliners had gathered outside the court for months, calling for the Christian governor to be jailed. The protesters threw rocks at the police line on Thursday after the announcement of the prosecutor's sentencing demands.