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Ahok's next hearing scheduled for Dec. 20
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Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama enters the courtroom prior to the start of his hearing at the North Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. Ahok is on trial on accusation of blasphemy following his remark about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. (AP/Tatan Syuflana, Pool)
The trial of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama’s blasphemy case has been adjourned until Dec. 20.
“The next hearing, which will be held on Dec. 20, next Tuesday, will hear the prosecution’s response to the exception conveyed by the suspect and his lawyers," presiding judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto said at the first hearing of the trial on Tuesday. The North Jakarta District Court is using the former Central Jakarta District Court building on Jl. Gajah Mada No. 17, Central Jakarta, for the trial.
The head of the prosecution team, Ali Mukartono, said they would prepare materials for next week’s hearing. “We have composed the draft of our response. We will further discuss it for the next hearing," Ali said.
On Tuesday, prosecutors read out their indictments against the incumbent governor.
Prosecutors said Ahok’s citation of Surah Al Maidah 51 in his speech in front of local residents during his working visit to Thousand Islands on Sept. 27 constituted blasphemy. They further said Ahok aimed to influence voters ahead of the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Soon after prosecutors finished reading out their indictments, Ahok conveyed his exception. Speaking in tears, Ahok claimed that he had never intended to insult Islam and ulemas.
After the hearing, Ahok’s legal team expressed their disappointment over his client's prosecution, which they deemed “irregular” and “heavily influenced” by public pressure.
"We, the lawyers, criticize the irregularities in the legal process, which bowed to public pressures [...] The legal process against Ahok was conducted 'super fast'," Ahok's lawyer Trimoelja D. Soerjadi said. (ebf)
