Prosecutors have demanded that the Pekanbaru District Court in Riau sentence Saracen member M. Abdullah Harsono to four years in prison for spreading hate speech on social media.

Abdullah is also accused of being an administrator of Saracen, an online syndicate believed to have been involved in creating and spreading hoax news about President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and former Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, among others, for money.

Prosecutor Sukatmini told the court on Thursday that Abdullah had been proven guilty of violating the Electronic Information and Transactions Law.

"Abdullah spread hate speech against Jokowi through an account of Harsono Abdullah. Using the name of Muhammad Ali Firdaus, the defendant also spread hate speech on social media to spearhead an anti-Chinese campaign," Sukatmini said at Thursday’s hearing.

Abdullah was arrested on Aug. 30 last year at his residence in Pekanbaru, about a month after the police arrested Jasriadi, the alleged leader of Saracen.

The trial was adjourned until next week, when Abdullah will present his defense statement. (vla/ipa)