Indonesian woman jailed for violating country's blasphemy law

Robert Besser
23 Sep 2023, 19:32 GMT+10

An Indonesian court sentenced Lina Lutfiawati, also known as Lina Mukherjee, to two years in prison this week for violating the country's blasphemy law
She was sentenced for posting a video in March on social media site TikTok where she recited the Muslim prayer before eating pork
Indonesia is the largest Muslim-majority country in the world

JAKARTA, Indonesia: An Indonesian court sentenced Lina Lutfiawati, also known as Lina Mukherjee, to two years in prison this week for violating the country's blasphemy law.

She was sentenced for posting a video in March on social media site TikTok where she recited the Muslim prayer before eating pork, which is considered 'haram,' or not permissible, under Islam.

Indonesia is the largest Muslim-majority country in the world.

Court documents in the Indonesian city of Palembang, on Sumatra island, showed that Lina was sentenced this week as she deliberately "spread information that was intended to incite hate or individual/group enmity based on religion."

She was also ordered to pay a fine of US$16,249.59.

Indonesia's strict blasphemy laws have been used to erode a long-standing reputation for tolerance and diversity in the Southeast Asian country, critics stressed.

Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, said the country's blasphemy law has been abused to target minority groups and dissenters.

"It contravenes Indonesia's international obligations in relation to respect and protection for freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief, freedom of opinion and expression," he said.

Notably, the blasphemy law has been used against Jakarta's former Christian governor Basuki "Ahok" Purnama, sentenced to two years in prison in 2017 for blasphemy, on charges widely considered as politically motivated.

The court documents also showed that the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), a leading body of clerics, told the court that Lina's action was blasphemous against Islam.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kolkata Sun.

More Information

20 ℃

Light Rain in Kolkata/Bose

International

Section

Migrants in Chicago, other northern US cities struggle to find homes

CHICAGO, Illinois: As winter sets in and with cold weather just around the corner, Chicago is struggling to house hundreds ...

12th century leaning tower in Bologna secured to save it from collapse

BOLOGNA, Italy: Due to fears of a collapse, local officials have secured the area around one of two 12th century ...

Flights, trains cancelled in Bavaria after heavy snowfall

MUNICH, Germany: The heavy snow and icy conditions that hit Bavaria, Germany, canceled flights and long-distance trains out of Munich, ...

North Carolina to add thousands of people to Medicaid rolls this week

RALEIGH, North Carolina: After a decade of discussions and hesitations, North Carolina has expanded Medicaid coverage by offering government-funded health ...

Pentagon secretly providing bombs for Israeli bombardments

The U.S. has supplied Israel with scores of BLU-109 bunker-buster bombs since October 7, the Wall Street Journal has reported, ...

Biden administration says EPA to replace lead water pipes in 10 years

WASHINGTON D.C.: This week, the Biden administration announced a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would require U.S. ...

India

Section