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Ahok’s lawyer ready to hear demanded prison terms
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Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (second right) during the 11th hearing of his blasphemy trial at the North Jakarta District Court on Feb. 21. (JP/Donny Fernando)
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fter the 17th hearing of his blasphemy trial at the North Jakarta District Court, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s legal team has said that it is ready to hear the prison terms demanded in the prosecution’s indictment, which is scheduled to be read on April 11.
Sirra Prayuna, one of Ahok’s lawyers, said that since the trial started on Dec 13, the prosecutors had failed to prove that his client had intentionally quoted Quranic verse Al Maidah 51 to insult the holy book and Islam.
“I am optimistic that whatever they [are seeking] to impose on our client in the next hearing, we can counter it with a solid defense statement,” Sirra told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
(Read also: Judges set aside edited video in Ahok’s trial)
Ahok is being charged under Article 156 of the Criminal Code on blasphemy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.
On Tuesday hearing both the prosecution and defense presented several videos to the judges to support their claims. Sirra said that in previous hearings, experts and witnesses presented by the defense team had testified that Ahok did not commit blasphemy in his controversial speech on Sept. 27 in Thousand Islands.
“In the end we should let the judges decide independently without any interference,” he continued.
