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awyers representing local Shia minority Muslims are asking the Constitutional Court to review the Criminal Code’s articles on blasphemy, which they say are elastic and open to abuse.

The lawyers are representing, among others, Tajul Muluk, a Shia leader from Sampang, Madura, who was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in July for blasphemy.

Universalia Legal Aid Institute director Ahmad Taufik said on Friday that Tajul’s case demonstrated how laws on blasphemy had been abused.

Tajul was accused of telling his followers that the Koran was not the original scripture and the true version of the Holy Book would be revealed to Imam Mahdi.

Tajul was not given mandatory warnings prior to his sentencing, Ahmad said.

“Tajul’s verdict is proof of lawlessness and legal uncertainty on the part of regional authorities,” Ahmad said. “If the court doesn’t correct things, millions of teachers, religious figures and preachers could be labeled ‘cultish’ and sent to prison.”