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Ahok considers filing pretrial motion
Incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is considering filing a pretrial motion for a blasphemy case in which he was named a suspect on Wednesday.
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Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama (center right) is accompanied by Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat (center) and members of their campaign team during a press conference at Rumah Lembang, their campaign headquarters, in Central Jakarta on Wednesday. Ahok was named a suspect in a blasphemy case on Wednesday. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A)
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ncumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is considering filing a pretrial motion for a blasphemy case in which he was named a suspect on Wednesday.
Ahok said he had not yet figured out his next legal move after the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) charged him with blasphemy, which could harm his reelection bid next year.
“I personally want a pretrial, so it can be live [on television],” Ahok said at Rumah Lembang, his campaign headquarters in Central Jakarta.
However, his lawyer, Sirra Prayuna, said the legal team had yet to determine its next steps. “We just heard Bareskrim’s conclusions. Give us time to think.”
Separately, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said the police would welcome a pretrial motion should Ahok file one.
"Any suspect has the right to file a pretrial motion to challenge his or her suspect status. We are ready [if Ahok exercises the right]," Boy told reporters at the police headquarters in South Jakarta.
Boy added that a pretrial motion would not affect the investigation into the case, claiming that evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation was adequate to declare Ahok a suspect.
On Tuesday, Bareskrim investigators heard testimony from dozens of witnesses and experts during a 10-hour closed-door case screening.
The screening was a response to a protest by more than 100,000 people around the National Monument (Monas) park in Central Jakarta on Nov. 4, demanding Ahok prosecution for blasphemy, based on a video featuring the governor commenting on a verse in the Quran during a visit to Thousand Islands regency in late September.
