JAKARTA, Nov 16: Indonesian police on Wednesday (Nov 16) said that Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, nicknamed “Ahok” has been named as a suspect for alleged blasphemy after a complaint was brought by Muslim groups against him.
Purnama, who is the first ethnic Chinese and Christian in the job, is facing demands by hardline Muslims that he resign over accusations he insulted the Koran.
The case will now proceed to court.
A panel of experts, witnesses, and external parties were invited to attend the hearing and lend their views, so that police may consider their input when deciding on the results.
Ari Dono Sukmanto, chief of the national police criminal investigation department, said on Wednesday morning that there were differences in opinion among the 27-member panel, but the prevailing view was to make Purnama a suspect.
The governor has been ordered not to leave the country by the police.
A decision to drop the case could have sparked mass protests led by hardline groups against not just Purnama but also President Joko Widodo, who is seen as a key backer of the governor.
The blasphemy allegations centre on a speech Purnama made in September, when he said his opponents had deceived voters by attacking him using a verse from the Koran.
A social media user edited and subtitled a video of the speech but omitted a key word in the subtitles so it appeared the governor was criticising the Koran rather than his rivals, police say.
The video went viral and incensed moderate and hardline Muslim groups alike. Police are investigating the social media user and have questioned up to 70 witnesses in the case against Purnama.
The governor was not present at the screening; however those who lodged the complaints against him were. Legal teams representing both parties were also in attendance.
CALL FOR CALM
Widodo, who has tried to distance himself from Purnama, has repeatedly called for calm and met with top religious, security, and political leaders to discuss the issue.
“We want to remind everyone that this country is one of diverse ethnicities, religions, races and languages,” he said on Tuesday in the latest of several speeches on the subject made to security forces.
Rights activists have said a decision to pursue the case against Purnama could set a precedent for persecution of religious minorities.
Indonesia recognises six religions and is home to several minority groups that adhere to traditional beliefs.
In the biggest protest Jakarta has seen in years, more than 100,000 Muslims marched against the governor this month, calling for his resignation and urging voters not to reelect him in February.
One protester was killed and more than 100 were wounded, police said, when the demonstration turned violent.
Purnama, a Protestant, once hugely popular for his tough, reformist approach to running the city of 10 million, has seen his support plummet amid the controversy.
But he remains ahead of his two rivals and around a third of voters remain undecided, an opinion poll showed last week.
Habib Rizieq, spiritual leader of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front, one of the organisers of the last protest, said on Tuesday that his group and others may march again depending on the outcome of the police hearing.
Widodo has urged police and the military in all parts of the archipelago to step up security as social media continues to buzz with anti-Purnama sentiment and incitement to violence.
Two attempted attacks on a church, which killed an infant, and a Buddhist temple in Borneo island this week have highlighted religious divisions in the country, though authorities have not tied the events to Purnama’s case.
– CNA/Agencies/rw