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Ahok's lawyers prepare appeal against court decision
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Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama attends his trial as prosecutors (left in background) look on at North Jakarta District Court on Dec. 20. Ahok's lawyers are preparing an appeal against the court's decision rejecting Ahok's refutation. (Pool Photo via AP/Adek Berry)
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akarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's lawyers are preparing an appeal against an interlocutory decision made by the North Jakarta District Court on Tuesday in which it rejected Ahok's refutation.
"We are preparing an appeal because in their decision, the judges did not consider a Constitutional Court ruling. The court stated that a blasphemy charge should be preceded by a stern warning, which never occurred in this case," one of Ahok's lawyers and younger sister, Fifi Lety Indra, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Fifi cited a 2012 Constitutional Court decision that Article 156 section a of the Criminal Code, with which Ahok has been charged, could only be invoked after the religious affairs minister, the attorney general and home minister had issued a joint warning in accordance with the “prevention of religious abuse” and/or the Blasphemy Law of 1965 (PNPS 1/1965).
(Read also: Court rejects Ahok’s refutation)
Based on PNPS 1/1965, if the blasphemy continues after a warning, the person can be charged under the Blasphemy Law, Fifi said.
Fifi went on to say that the appeal would be submitted to the Jakarta High Court.
"We hope that judges [at the high court] will have the courage to release Ahok from the blasphemy charge," she said.
On Tuesday, presiding judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto said the Constitutional Court decision referred by the lawyers in the objection was not relevant to Ahok's case as the decision referred to a specific case. (jun)
