Governor Jail Two Years For Inciting Violence
https://www.fearlessreports.com/2017/05/governor-jail-two-years-for-inciting.html

The outgoing governor of Jakarta has been sentenced to two years in prison for blasphemy and inciting violence.
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, known as Ahok , was the first ethnic Chinese Christian to run Indonesia ’ s capital , and the case was seen as a test of the country’ s religious tolerance.
He was accused of insulting Islam by referring to a verse in the Koran during a campaign speech.
Mr Purnama denied blasphemy and in court said he would mount an appeal.
The sentence is harsher than most observers had expected – prosecutors had called for a suspended one - year sentence .
The governor was “found to have legitimately and convincingly conducted a criminal act of blasphemy , and because of that we have imposed two years of imprisonment , ” the judge told the court .
Mr Purnama was accused of blasphemy for comments he made during a pre - election speech last September .
He implied that Islamic leaders were trying to trick voters by using a verse in the Koran to argue that Muslims should not vote for a non - Muslim leader .
His remarks , which were widely shared in an edited video , sparked outrage among religious hardliners .
They staged regular large rallies calling for him to face trial .
Throughout the trial , Mr Purnama denied wrongdoing , but did apologise for his comments nonetheless .
Ahead of the verdict , protesters for and against Mr Purnama had gathered outside the court demanding respectively his acquittal or a long prison sentence .
Disappointed with the eventual verdict , some protesters demanded the outgoing governor to be hanged .
Around 15 , 000 security personnel from the police and military are providing security at the scene, with riot police and armoured vehicles separating the rival groups .
Mr Purnama became governor after his predecessor , Joko “ Jokowi ” Widodo, was elected president in 2014 .
As an ethnic Chinese Indonesian and Christian he is a double minority , and was Jakarta ’ s first non - Muslim governor for 50 years .
His political success was also seen as a significant development given the violent anti - Chinese riots that occurred in the city in 1998 .
Before the blasphemy allegations , he had been widely hailed as a straight-talking politician with a strong anti -corruption stance.
But the controversy overshadowed scheduled elections last month .
Despite his enduring popularity with many in Jakarta for his efforts to improve living standards , he lost to conservative Muslim candidate Anies Rasyid Baswedan.
Indonesia is the world’ s most -populous Muslim country. About 85 % of its population are Muslim, but the country officially respects six religions .
NAN