A

s pressure mounts from another rally planned by conservative Muslim groups, law enforcement bodies have accelerated an investigation into alleged blasphemy by Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama.

Amid the campaign season for the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election and only three days after receiving the dossier for the politically charged case, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) declared on Wednesday that it was ready for trial.

The result of the unusually fast case dossier examination by the AGO was announced just two days before a planned Dec. 2 rally by protestors demanding the governor’s arrest “as soon as possible”.

With Ahok campaigning for reelection, his defense team has questioned whether the court can resist the mounting public pressure and remain independent in the case.

Ahok’s lead counsel Sirra Prayuna said there would be more than 100 lawyers on the defense team, but there was growing concern among them about whether the judiciary could maintain its independence if thousands of people swarmed the court, seeking a guilty verdict.

“Can a panel of judges have the chance to thoroughly study the case with a clear mind before delivering a verdict? That is the burning question here,” Sirra told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, hours after the AGO declared the dossier complete.

Weeks after Ahok made a controversial statement citing a Quranic verse to fishermen in Thousand Islands, a tampered video of the speech went viral, triggering Muslim groups to accuse the governor of insulting the holy book, despite his repeated apologies.

The police were quick to name Ahok a suspect for blasphemy after more than 100,000 people hit the streets of the capital to express their anger, in one of the largest rallies the country has ever seen. The case was submitted to the AGO 10 days later.

Around 200,000 people are this Friday expected to pack the National Monument (Monas) square in Central Jakarta for a Quran recital and mass prayer, a compromise reached after negotiations between the groups and the police.

The AGO denied that the swift examination was a move to bow to Muslim groups’ demands, but acknowledged the process was intentionally carried out quickly to “respond to public wishes as they have been waiting for clarity on the case”.

“After having worked on this case day and night, we declare the dossier is complete. [There was] no pressure on this; we just need to show the public that prosecutors are serious in handling the case,” AGO junior prosecutor for general crimes Noor Rachmad told reporters.

Ahok has been charged under Article 156 (a) of the Criminal Code on blasphemy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.

Since day one, Sirra has identified unusual treatment in the case. Never in his career had he seen such a big case processed so quickly, he said, adding that the time frame usually applied to traffic infringements.

“Everyone should understand that Ahok is innocent before being proven guilty. In this country justice doesn’t bow to public pressure,” he said.

With the trial expected to start soon, Ahok is set to continue his election campaign while sitting in the defendant’s seat.

Contrary to his legal team’s concerns, Ahok’s campaign team remains optimistic and has said no major adjustments will be made to its strategy.

Team spokesman Bestari Barus said he was in fact hopeful that the legal steps would attract more voters for Ahok and his running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat, instead of further decreasing their popularity.

In the wake of anti-Ahok rallies in the past month, pollsters have revealed that Ahok has lost his frontrunner status to candidate Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono.

“If the trial is open to the public, I am sure the court room will be packed with Ahok’s supporters,” Bestari added.