TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Ahok is now a free man

Ahok left the Mobile Brigade headquarters and headed home.

Kharishar Kahfi (The Jakarta Post)
Depok
Thu, January 24, 2019

Share This Article

Change Size

Ahok is now a free man A supporter of former Jakarta governor Basuki (JP/Kharishar Kahfi)

B

asuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who has asked to be referred to as BTP upon release, is a free man once again after serving nearly two years for blasphemy. 

Ahok, who was released from the National Police’s Mobile Brigade (Mako Brimob) headquarters in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java, on Thursday, left the building in the morning and headed home, according to his team. 

Bapak BTP left Mako Brimob at around 7:30 a.m. He was picked up by his oldest son Nicholas Sean and members of the BTP team. He headed home immediately,” a BTP team representative, Ima Mahdiah, said on Thursday.

Basuki
Basuki (Courtesy of BTP team/-)

Ahok and his team are believed to have left the compound through the back.

A crowd of supporters had gathered at the front gate in the morning to welcome the former Jakarta governor.

Ahok was sentenced for blasphemy following a speech he made in the Thousand Islands regency in September 2016 that referred to Al-Maidah verse 51 in the Quran. Ahok said the verse -- believed to ban Muslims from choosing a non-muslim leader -- had been used by politicians to manipulate people into voting against him. 

The case played a major role in Ahok's defeat in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. (swd)

 

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.