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Ahok lawyers say Buni Yani's sentence too light
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Buni Yani (center) attends a court hearing at the Bandung District Court in West Java. (Antara/Agus Bebeng)
T
he lawyers of Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama have said that Buni Yani’s 18-month prison sentence for hate speech is too lenient.
“Buni Yani created chaos. With this sentence, Pak Ahok should not have been punished at all,” said one of Ahok lawyers, I Wayan Sudirta, on Tuesday quoted by kompas.com.
The sentence was considered too light because Buni was proven guilty of hate speech through his editing of a recording of Ahok making a speech in which the then governor warned residents of Thousand Islands regency about politicians using Quranic verses for political gain. His editing led to misperception, Wayan alleged.
Ahok was sentenced to two years in prison on May 9 for blasphemy.
Another of Ahok’s lawyers, Teguh Samudra, said the sentence was beyond belief.
“It should be heavier than Pak Ahok’s sentence, plus he should be sent to prison immediately,” Teguh said.
The Bandung District Court sentenced Buni to 18 months in prison on Tuesday for violating the Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law. Presiding judge M. Saptono said Buni was proven guilty of violating Article 32 of the 2011 ITE Law.
The sentence was lighter than the prosecutors’ demand of two years. (wnd)
