State prosecutors demanded on Monday that the East Jakarta District Court sentence hate speech suspect Jonru Ginting to two years in prison
tate prosecutors demanded on Monday that the East Jakarta District Court sentence hate speech suspect Jonru Ginting to two years in prison.
“The suspect deliberately spread information [through social media] that incited hatred in society,” prosecutor Zulkipli said during the trial. He added that, according to witness reports, the information carried negative connotations.
“According to language experts and reporters, the suspect’s posts about President Jokowi’s parents contained hatred,” said Zulkipli.
Jonru has been charged under Article 28 of the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law, which carries a punishment of two years’ imprisonment and a Rp 50 million (US$3,690) fine.
Jonru, a social media personality, was reported by lawyer Muannas Al Aidid in August last year after appearing on a TV talk show, during which he admitted to writing a post questioning the identities of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s parents.
Jonru claimed that Jokowi was the only president whose parents’ identities were unclear, criticizing the people who elected him to such an important position.
However, during the show, Jonru said he did not mean to offend Jokowi.
The prosecutor also said the accused also had no right to say that respected scholar Quraish Shihab was not a cleric simply because the latter was not involved in the 212 rally on Dec. 12, 2016, where people gathered to demand the imprisonment of former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama for blasphemy.
Muannas said a lot of Jonru’s posts on social media had incited hatred related to tribal affiliations, religion, race and societal groups (SARA).
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.