“The suspect deliberately spread information [through social media] that incited hatred in society,” prosecutor Zulkipli said during the trial. He added that, according to witness reports, the information carried negative connotations.

“According to language experts and reporters, the suspect’s postings about President Jokowi’s parents contain hatred,” said Zulkipli.

Jonru has been proven to violate Article 28 of the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) law, which carries a punishment of two years' imprisonment and a Rp 50 million (US$3,690) fine.

Jonru, a social media persona, was reported by lawyer Muannas Al Aidid in August last year after appearing on a TV talk show, during which he admitted to writing a post questioning the identities of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s parents.

Jonru claimed that Jokowi was the only president whose parents’ identities were unclear, criticizing people who elected him to such an important position.

However, during the show, Jonru said he did not mean to offend Jokowi.

The prosecutor also said the accused also had no right to say that respected scholar Quraish Shihab was not a cleric simply because the latter was not involved in the 212 rally on Dec. 12, 2016, where people gathered to demand the imprisonment of former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama for blasphemy.

Muannas said a lot of Jonru’s posts on social media had incited hatred related to ethnic, religious, racial or societal groups (SARA). (vny)

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