Tensions in the capital were high even before the now infamous November 4 mass protest against Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama for his alleged blasphemy against Islam.
The previous Wednesday, the governor was chased away by what seemed to be a hardline Muslim group as he was campaigning in the Rawa Belong neighborhood in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta. Ahok managed to escape the mob in a mikrolet minivan, but one old man in Muslim clothing became the center of attention as he issued a cry for the mob to take Ahok’s life in a gruesome manner.
“I will give a reward of Rp 1 billion to anyone who can kill Ahok. I’ll sell my Rp 10 billion home. I’ll have Rp 1 billion in my hand and I’ll give it to whoever can cut Ahok,” he shouted through a megaphone while making the throat-slicing gesture, as quoted by Warta Kota.
“Dead or alive, whenever. Remember that, I will give Rp 1 billion to whoever can kill Ahok, dead or alive give me his head here.”
(One would argue that nobody could survive decapitation, but we digress…)
A video recording of the old man literally calling for Ahok’s head circulated online, with many mirrors of the video still available on Youtube.
With the video as proof, the Advocates Network of the Republic of Indonesia (JARI) reported the old man, whose identity was not disclosed, to the Jakarta Metro Police yesterday.
“The reward [for Ahok’s head] was like something out of the time of kingdoms. By making a speech in public, riling people up to commit evil and bringing Ahok’s head, [the old man] has overstepped the boundaries of law,” said JARI head Krisna Murti.
The old man may be jailed for up to five years for making a threat against someone’s life, as regulated in Article 336 of the Criminal Code. In addition, he could also receive a further 12 years in prison for violating Article 29 of the Information and Electronic Transactions Act as his death threat-filled hate speech was spread online, though that would require that the old man uploaded the video himself.
The police have not yet issued a statement regarding this case.
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