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AGO moves Ahok's trial to Central Jakarta District Court
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Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama (right) appears tense as he leaves the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) after attending the handover of the dossier on his blasphemy case from the police to prosecutors in Jakarta on Dec. 1. Ahok is being prosecuted for criticizing the use of a Quranic verse that prohibits Muslims from choosing non-Muslim leaders. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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ttorney General HM Prasetyo announced Tuesday that the trial of non-active Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama would be moved to the Central Jakarta District Court on Dec. 13.
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) had previously submitted Ahok’s case dossier to the North Jakarta District Court along with 51 pieces of evidence.
However, Prasetyo told lawmakers that the trial would be moved because of a technical reason. “The North Jakarta District Court building is under construction so a trial cannot take place there,” he said during a hearing at the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing law and human rights.
Prasetyo, a politician from the NasDem Party, explained that 13 state prosecutors had prepared their indictment for the blasphemy case implicating Ahok, whose judgments, according to Prasetyo, would be reliable.
Ahok was charged for allegedly violating articles 156 and 156a of the Criminal Code on blasphemy. He was named a suspect by the National Police on Nov. 16 for a controversial statement during a working visit to Thousand Islands regency on Sept. 25.
Two mass demonstrations on Nov. 4 and Dec. 2, respectively, took place demanding the prosecution of the governor, who is seeking reelection, rivalling candidates of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's son Agus Harimurti and former education minister Anies Baswedan. The Jakarta gubernatorial election will take place on Feb. 15, 2017. (yan)
