The jailing of former Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama earlier this year on blasphemy charges that many believe to have been heavily politicized has led to renewed criticism of the country’s harsh blasphemy laws.
A soldier in Jayapura, who yesterday was found guilty of defaming religion by burning holy books, is the latest blasphemer to be thrown into an Indonesian prison under questionable circumstances.
Yesterday, a panel of Judges of the 3rd Military Court of Jayapura sentenced Second Sergeant Bangun Ahmad to 2.5 years in prison and dismissed him from his military unit for having been “legally and convincingly proven to defame religion.”
Bangun Ahmad, who was a member of the border security task force, was accused of burning dozens of holy books on May 25 in a garbage bin located near his barracks.
The former soldier said in his defense statement that he had taken the initiative to clean the warehouse and while doing so had found a pile of books in a box that he then immediately burned. He claimed not to know that there were holy books inside (reports did not say which holy books).
The judges clearly did not buy that defense and after a five-hour trial featuring 19 witnesses, delivered the sentence of 2.5 years in jail (higher than the two years requested by the prosecution).
Pastor Dora Balubun of the Synod Church of Jayapura expressed his gratitude for the sentences handed down by the judges after the trial, telling Kabar24, “Justice must be upheld even if we have given forgiveness, and we hope this incident does not happen again in the future.”
