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Rizieq’s testimony in Ahok case not credible: Rights group
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Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Habib Rizieq Shihab (center) speaks at an event in Jakarta on June 1. (JP/Viriya Paramita Singgih)
H
uman rights watchdog the Setara Institute has said Islam Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Habib Rizieq Shihab does not have the religious authority to make expert comments on the alleged defamation case against Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahja Purnama.
Police questioned Rizieq as an expert witness on Thursday in connection with the case that was ignited by comments made by Ahok in Thousand Islands regency about verse 51 in the Quran that according to several organizations was an insult to Islam.
Setara Institute deputy chairman Bonar Tigor Naipospos said Rizieq had no notable publications in the field of Quranic translation, therefore he must not have the academic qualifications to be considered an expert in the blasphemy case.
“Although he claims himself an imam of the FPI, I think he does not have any capacity to be an expert witness in the case. What study has he ever produced? An expert witness must have an academic qualification,” Bonar told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
In addition, Rizieq is the lead figure behind the scheduled mass demonstration for Friday, encouraging all Muslims in the country to flock to Jakarta to push for the National Police’s prosecution of Ahok in the blasphemy case.
Bonar further said an expert witness had to be a neutral party and Habib’s role as a promoter of the mass rally disqualified him of an impartial status in the case. (bbn)
