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rosecutions against followers of the minority Fajar Nusantara Movement (Gafatar) for propagating views deemed heretical by the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) are unlikely to continue.

Calls last week from both President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Syaifuddin for Gafatar members to be protected and returned to society may have softened the stance of law enforcement authorities.

The police say they will only proceed with criminal charges against Gafatar members allegedly involved in abduction while the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO) remains undecided on how to build a case against the so-called heretical teachings of Gafatar.

There are currently four cases connected to Gafatar being investigated by police nationwide; one is being handled by the National Police, two by the West Kalimantan Police and one by the Yogyakarta Police.

National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto told The Jakarta Post recently that prosecutions against Gafatar members for adhering to deviant beliefs had hinged on frail grounds.

'€œNone of the Gafatar members have been named suspects by the West Kalimantan Police or by the National Police,'€ he said.

The case being investigated by the National Police was filed against Gafatar leader Mahful Tumanurung, while those in West Kalimantan revolved around the propagation of heretical teachings.

'€œOnly the Yogyakarta Police have named suspects, but in connection to reports of abduction,'€ said Agus.

Married couple Eko and Veni are suspected of having abducted a Lampung physician, Rica Tri Handayani, who resides in Yogyakarta, to get her to join Gafatar.

The case has catapulted the Gafatar movement back into the spotlight, although many of its members have avoided publicity since August last year by living in an agricultural community in the remote Mempawah regency in West Kalimantan.

Following rumors of abductions, mobs attacked the Gafatar compound in the regency, forcing around 4,000 people to flee.

As the persecution of Gafatar members intensified across the archipelago, the MUI last week declared Gafatar a heretical movement as it is reported to have attempted to combine the teachings of Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

The MUI also claims that Gafatar has not made prayer and fasting obligatory and so deviates from true Islamic teachings.

Agus said that the National Police planned to meet with officials from the Religious Affairs Ministry and MUI members to discuss the reasoning behind the issuance of the fatwa.

Both the police and the AGO have considered charging Gafatar members with religious defamation and with treason for allegedly attempting to establish their own state on Indonesian territory.

Prosecutions of Gafatar members are not without precedent. Based on a heresy edict the MUI issued in 2006, Gafatar founder and leader Ahmad Musaddeq was sentenced to four years in prison in 2007 for religious defamation after he claimed to be a prophet.

Attorney General HM Prasetyo said more discussions should be held with the MUI before deciding on any charges.

'€œGafatar has engaged in many social activities, education and cooperatives, but the MUI has declared it heretical. The fatwa will become one consideration for us to decide how to deal with the movement,'€ he said.