S

oon after a panel of judges at the North Jakarta District Court sentenced Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama to two years in prison, support began pouring in for the Jakarta governor.

Many of Ahok’s supporters and sympathizers expressed their dissatisfaction with the verdict, with most of them deeming it as unfair given the fact that prosecutors previously only demanded that Ahok be sentenced to two years’ probation.

Immediately after the verdict hearing, hundreds of Ahok supporters moved from the location of the trial at the Agriculture Ministry building in Ragunan, South Jakarta, to Cipinang detention center in East Jakarta, where Ahok is being detained.

The supporters’ coordinator, Rendy Reinhart, said the gathering symbolized the struggle and fight for justice, as they believed the judges had succumbed to public pressure in delivering the verdict.

“There are even suspicions that the case was ridden by political elites,” he said.

The supporters, mostly female, then demanded to see Ahok. As their request was not fulfilled, they shook the main gate of the detention center.

“We are still angry. We will stay here until tomorrow morning unless Ahok is brought to speak for five or ten minutes here,” said one of the supporters, Birgaldo Sinaga, as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

The supporters also planned to stage a candlelight rally on Tuesday evening in front of the detention center.

Other acts of solidarity are scheduled for Wednesday. Notable Indonesian composer Addie MS will hold a choir recital at City Hall on Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile on Wednesday evening, a movement called Jakarta Citizen’s Solidarity for Justice will hold a candlelight vigil at the Proclamation Monument in Central Jakarta.

Netizens also expressed their support for Ahok. Since Tuesday afternoon, a photo showing Ahok posed with several Cipinang detention center staffers had been circulating on Twitter.

The photo was accompanied by a caption that read, “He will remain as my idol even though he is going to be detained, because the heart of the citizens’ hero cannot be detained.”

Until 5:50 p.m., “Ahok” was the number one trending topic worldwide on Twitter with 302,000 tweets.

Meanwhile, hashtag #RIPhukumIndonesia (RIP Indonesian Law) become a nationwide trending topic with more than 10,000 tweets posted within a couple of hours after the court delivered Ahok’s verdict. (kuk/dea)