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Six witnesses to testify against Ahok: Lawyer
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Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as "Ahok", (front) enters a court room at the North Jakarta District Court in Jakarta to attend his trial in Jakarta, Dec. 20. Ahok is on trial for alleged blasphemy following his remark about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. (Pool Photo via AP/Adek Berry)
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rosecutors will present six witnesses to testify against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in the fourth hearing of his blasphemy trial at the North Jakarta District Court on Tuesday morning, a lawyer said.
"The witnesses are the people who had denounced Ahok for blasphemy," Josefina Syukur, Ahok's lawyer, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
She revealed that prosecutors would present National Movement to Safeguard the Indonesian Ulema Council's Fatwa (GNPF-MUI) advocacy head Novel Bamukmin, Sharia Advocate Chairman Gus Joy Setiawan, lawyer Muh. Burhanuddin, Islam Defenders Front (FPI) Jakarta branch head Muchsin, the head of the Anti-blasphemy Forum Syamsu Hilal and another person named Nandi Naksabandi.
(Read also: Ahok supporters to stage rallies until trial ends)
The lawyers were ready to face the witnesses’ statements, she said.
"We have prepared some questions regarding their statements in their reports," she added.
Separately, Novel, who is also an FPI leader, said he had prepared evidence to prove that Ahok was guilty in committing blasphemy.
"I've prepared videos and a printout from an online news [source] that show Ahok had insulted Islam by using Surah Al Maidah 51, since he ran as Jakarta deputy governor in 2012," he said.
On Dec. 27, the court’s panel of judges, led by judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto, decided to reject Ahok's refutation.
Ahok's fourth hearing will be moved from the former Central Jakarta District Court building on Jl. Gajah Mada, Central Jakarta, to the Ministry of Agriculture's auditorium building on Jl. RM Harsono, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, due to security concerns.
