Former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama was sent to East Jakarta’s Cipinang prison immediately after his sentencing hearing last Tuesday, but he was transferred for detention at Mobile Brigade headquarters (Mako Brimob) in Depok in the early hours of the following day.
Justice and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly yesterday revealed that one of the reasons why he recommended the transfer was that Ahok had received death threats at Cipinang.
“There were those [in Cipinang] who were very unhappy [about Ahok’s verdict] and there were also death threats,” Yasonna told Tempo.
He said that guards at Cipinang would have struggled to protect Ahok from said death threats, as the facility is currently holding 3,700 inmates, while the prison’s maximum capacity is 1,136.
Another reason behind Ahok’s transfer was that Cipinang prison is located on a main road, and the huge crowds who were protesting Ahok’s imprisonment outside the prison were blocking traffic.
However, Rolas Sitinjak, Ahok’s lawyer, said that his legal team were unaware that Ahok received death threats at Cipinang and said he thought the move was mainly done to prevent more mass demonstrations by supporters in front of the jail.
Ahok was sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of blasphemy against Islam – a sentence that, curiously, both Ahok’s lawyers and the prosecution found to be flawed.
