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Judges bow to political pressure in Ahok’s trial: PDI-P
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Supporters of non-active Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama place flowers in front of the Agriculture Ministry building, the venue of Ahok's blasphemy trial, on Tuesday. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
T
he sentencing of Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama to two years in prison for blasphemy has outraged the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and prompted it to accuse the judges of bowing to public pressure.
PDI-P executive Charles Honoris said on Wednesday that the case against Ahok had been a political ploy from the very beginning.
"The verdict is disappointing. [We are sure] that the judges ruled so due to pressure and intervention, not based on legal facts and evidence," Charles said.
"Now it's clear that they bowed to public pressure and intervention instead of upholding the principal of fairness," said the House of Representatives lawmaker.
The judges' ruling on Tuesday followed a series of anti-Ahok rallies by a number of Muslim groups. Ahok was accused of blasphemy after citing a Quranic verse in Thousand Islands regency last year.
Charles said the case could not be separated from the Jakarta gubernatorial election, where in the runoff Ahok vied with Anies Baswedan, who was believed to be backed by hard-line Islamism groups. Anies won the election.
Since early in the investigation and trial, the groups always rallied in front of the court.
"The case was born from the election and was not purely about crime," Charles said. "During the trial, we could see how massive the pressure and intervention from many parties was. This was all about the Jakarta election and an attempt to weaken the central government."
