National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto said on Wednesday the witnesses the police had interrogated comprised eye witnesses and expert witnesses, which included religious, linguistic and criminal law experts. 

“Today, we are scheduled to question several more people who have denounced Ahok. We will probe them at the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) office," Agus told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. 

As reported earlier, Bareskrim has received 11 reports on Ahok’s alleged blasphemy filed by civil society groups, Muslim organizations and individuals.

On Tuesday, the police questioned several people accusing Ahok of committing blasphemy. They included representatives of Pemuda Muhammadiyah, the youth wing of Indonesia’s second largest Islamic organization, the Anti-Religious Blasphemy Forum (FAPA) and Irena Handono, an ustadzah (female Islamic teacher). 

The police have also promised to investigate the case transparently by, among others things, live broadcasting of Ahok's case screening next week. 

“If we allow everyone to see the progress of the police’s investigation into the case, people will be able to see that the matter [is free of] interference,” Agus said. 

A case screening is one of several phases in a criminal investigation, during which the police will decide whether a case is solid enough for them to name someone a suspect, or whether they should drop the case and clear the accused party from all charges. (ebf)