Indonesia: A blasphemy trial begins

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgnkOFTTeTBHhbddOk5G0v9udFPwmQtE_qMGSbvpy6Fmi3DMQE0EDmCxEiPz7CLxULXVv1DgSEM3KZFLelSLA3KOyKcZJYm8IFgCuVs60AY_Q9AQKp0wFDz9JDxJHwNz-LhgiAX4kGWk/s1600/Ahok_blasphemy_trial_INDONESIA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ahok's blasphemy trial begins" border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgnkOFTTeTBHhbddOk5G0v9udFPwmQtE_qMGSbvpy6Fmi3DMQE0EDmCxEiPz7CLxULXVv1DgSEM3KZFLelSLA3KOyKcZJYm8IFgCuVs60AY_Q9AQKp0wFDz9JDxJHwNz-LhgiAX4kGWk/s400/Ahok_blasphemy_trial_INDONESIA.jpg" title="Ahok's blasphemy trial begins" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahok's blasphemy trial begins</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Welcome to the 21st century!</b><br /><br />Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama will receive legal assistance from 80 lawyers for his blasphemy trial, which will start on Tuesday at the North Jakarta District Court – now temporarily located at the former Central Jakarta District Court building on Jl. Gajah Mada No.17, Central Jakarta.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Indonesian court gives go-ahead to blasphemy trial of Jakarta governor Ahok</h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Basuki Tjahaja Purnama has denied he intended to insult the Qu’ran while campaigning</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An Indonesian court will proceed with a controversial blasphemy trial against Jakarta’s Christian governor, who is accused of insulting the Qur’an, a judge said on Tuesday.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The case is seen as a test of religious freedom in the Muslim-majority nation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A panel of judges rejected a call by lawyers defending governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who is known by his nickname Ahok, to strike down the case because it had violated the ethnic Chinese politician’s human rights and breached procedures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The exception by the defendant will be considered and decided by the court after examination of all evidence. The defendant’s exception is not accepted,” said judge Abdul Rosyad.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A tearful Ahok denied at his first hearing on 13 December that he had intended to insult the Qur’an while he was campaigning ahead of elections in February for the governorship of Jakarta, capital of the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ahok angered religious conservatives after he referenced a verse from the Islamic holy book, Al-Maidah 51 of the Qur’an, rather boldly telling voters they should not be duped by religious leaders using the verse to justify the claim that Muslims should not be led by non-Muslims.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Tuesday hundreds of white-clad Muslim protesters chanted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) outside the court in north Jakarta and called for the jailing of the governor.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A smaller group of his supporters were also present outside the courthouse, which was flanked by lines of police.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The presiding judge on the panel, Dwiyarso Budi Santiarto, said the defence could appeal to a higher court if they did not agree with the decision to proceed with the case.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ahok, after consulting his lawyers, told the court he would consider doing so.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The governor was named a suspect after hundreds of thousands of people, led by Muslim hardliners, attended rallies in recent months calling for his arrest.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Blasphemy convictions in Indonesia can carry a jail term of up to five years and nearly always result in conviction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Amnesty International has criticised the law for hurting freedom of expression and for targeting religious minorities.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">President Joko Widodo, seen as an Ahok ally, has blamed “political actors” for fuelling the protests, but declined to elaborate.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As governor, Ahok has won credit for cutting red tape and improving the performance of Jakarta’s bloated bureaucracy. However, his abrasive language and insistence on clearing city slums has alienated many voters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After suffering a slide in support in opinion polls, Ahok has rebounded to become the frontrunner again in the election race to lead Jakarta, according to a poll by the Indonesian Survey Institute earlier this month.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next court hearing is scheduled for 3 January and will be moved to an auditorium in the agriculture ministry in the south of the city for security reasons, authorities said.</div><br />Sources: DPN, Jan. 14, 2017; <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/multimedia/2016/12/13/ahoks-blasphemy-trial-begins.html" target="_blank">The Jakarta Post</a>, Jan. 14, 2017; <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/27/indonesia-court-blasphemy-trial-ahok-jakarta-governor" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, Dec. 26, 2016<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? 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Indonesia: A blasphemy trial begins

Ahok's blasphemy trial begins Welcome to the 21st century! Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama will receive legal a...

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Pakistani Christian faces death penalty for allegedly "desecrating Quran"

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-e66uv8K24rMCI65Q_4P54e89vQadImRcuOzgIYNSVkCwhiuKCHQjsjlnF7OFUrt3Nd2qsTdMFW70XBonaCISq5VvHgtjV7zDQVAjt4TnUKhRLtFMgH1rSnTXYmIL36XvVbvCiQsolk/s1600/Quran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-e66uv8K24rMCI65Q_4P54e89vQadImRcuOzgIYNSVkCwhiuKCHQjsjlnF7OFUrt3Nd2qsTdMFW70XBonaCISq5VvHgtjV7zDQVAjt4TnUKhRLtFMgH1rSnTXYmIL36XvVbvCiQsolk/s400/Quran.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pakistani Christian faces the death penalty after being accused of ripping pages out of a Quran by a Muslim involved in a business dispute with the arrested man's family</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Pakistani Christian faces the death penalty after being accused of ripping pages out of a Koran, it has emerged.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Shahbaz Babu was accused of desecrating the holy book by writing his name on it and scattering torn-up pages in front of a mosque in Kamahan, near Lahore.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 41-year-old was thrown in jail on blasphemy charges following a complaint by a man who is in a business dispute with the married father-of-three's family, it has been claimed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Activists from the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) say Badu, an evangelical Christian, is illiterate and cannot have written his name on the Quran.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The organisation reports that Badu was taken to Nishtar police station before being moved to Model Town station to avoid 'possible reprisals' arising from the charges against him.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There were no eyewitnesses to him writing his name on the book while his accuser, is said to be in dispute with Badu's brother who owns a 'thriving' grocery store, the BPCA said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Others have pointed out inconsistencies in the accusations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Badu was accused of desecrating the Koran in secret - but ripping up the pages would have left public clear evidence of his alleged activities.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to Asia News, Babu was arrested on December 30 under Article 295B of the Pakistan Penal Code.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the BPCA. said: 'This latest blasphemy case highlights the little progress made by the Government of Pakistan towards improving the rights of minorities under their protection. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">'Wholly biased laws such as the notorious blasphemy laws of Pakistan have no place in egalitarian modern democracies, suggesting that the nation has moved forward little from its feudal past. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">'In every blasphemy case in Pakistan common-sense flies out of the window as a corrupt and incredibly inadequate police force goes about it's business with prejudice and avarice.'</div><br />Source: <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4101416/Pakistani-Christian-faces-death-penalty-accused-ripping-pages-Koran-Muslim-involved-business-dispute-arrested-man-s-family.html" target="_blank">Mail Online</a>, January 9, 2017<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; 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Pakistani Christian faces death penalty for allegedly "desecrating Quran"

Pakistani Christian faces the death penalty after being accused of ripping pages out of a Quran by a Muslim involved in a business dispute w...

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