The hundreds of flower boquets decorating City Hall sent by Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s supporters in commiseration for his election loss might not be enough to cheer up the outgoing governor as he was forced to sit through another hearing of his blasphemy trial on Tuesday morning.

The hearing got off to a rocky start after a group of people held up proceedings by chanting “Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!” directly after presiding judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto asked Ahok to read out his final defense statement.

Dwiarso rebuked the group and ordered them to leave, before telling all visitors to remain quiet, saying that the judges would not be influenced by such unwanted disturbances.

The governor, who is a Christian of Chinese descent, then read out his final defense statement entitled “Keep Serving Despite Being Slandered,” seeking to convince the five-judge panel that he did not deserve to serve two years of probation as demanded by prosecutors on April 20.

Ahok said he had not insulted Islam nor shown animosity toward Muslims by commenting on Surah Al Maidah 51 during a speech in Thousand Islands on Sept. 27, 2016.

The governor said that rather he had been the victim of defamation after Buni Yani, who is now a hate-speech suspect, caused public uproar by uploading a video of his speech with a provocative and inaccurate transcription.

It was only after Buni uploaded the video, that protests against him began, Ahok said.

Ahok then cited a piece of writing from senior poet and journalist Goenawan Mohammad that also presented the argument that he had been a victim of defamation.

“Ahok didn’t insult Islam, but the accusations have been continuously repeated. Just like Nazi propaganda, if a lie is repeated often enough, it will become the truth,” Ahok said, citing Goenawan’s piece.

Going on to read his defense statement, Ahok said that slander spread through mosques, social media and daily conversations had made people see his comment as a clear-cut act of blasphemy before his trial even began.

Ahok added that the speech he gave to Thousand Islands residents that day was designed to encourage them to join the administration’s fish cultivation program in the hope of improving their welfare.

He also told the judges that his primary goal as governor was simply to ensure his residents’ “brains, stomachs and wallets are full.”

He then spoke about an experience watching Finding Nemo with kindergarten students at City Hall during which they asked him why he always went against the current.

Ahok retold a scene from the movie in which Nemo and other fish, who are trapped in a large net, swim down against the fishing boat’s net to overcome its upwards pull in order to free themselves.

He said he told the children that he often swam against the current to defend the truth and do good for the residents.

“I’m just a little Nemo in Jakarta who will keep helping the poor and needy although I have been slandered and scorned due to my different faith and beliefs, I will keep serving [the residents] with love,” Ahok said.

Ahok’s lawyers then took the baton from their client, citing a Jakarta Legal Aid (LBH Jakarta) statement that said Ahok had become a victim of the Blasphemy Law, which they claimed was inherently undemocratic.

The lawyers demanded that the court clear Ahok of all the charges, including Article 156 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on showing animosity toward others and Article 156a of the KUHP on blasphemy. The lawyers also urged the court to take measures to restore Ahok’s name.

The trial, which has been ongoing since Dec. 13, is slated to finish on May 9.

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