Amnesty International urged for President Joko Widodo’s government to revoke a law that criminalizes those accused of religious blasphemy in Indonesia.
“The new government must end the criminalization of belief through the religious blasphemy law, which is oppressive. The Religious Blasphemy Law in Indonesia goes against the standards of international law,” said Amnesty International Southeast Asia Research Director Rupert Abbott at a press conference in Jakarta today, as quoted by Detik.com.
Rupert said 100 people have been locked up in Indonesia for peacefully expressing their beliefs. He added that at least nine people are still locked up behind bars.
“They are all prisoners of faith and must be released unconditionally,” Rupert said.
Amnesty International is of the opinion that the Religious Blasphemy Law in Indonesia discriminates against those whose beliefs are outside those of the six officially recognized religions in Indonesia.
The organization have previously spoken out against Indonesia’s Religious Blasphemy Law, which led to the two-and-a-half years imprisonment of an accused atheist, Alexander Aan, in 2012. Alexander was charged with “disseminating information aimed at inciting religious hatred or hostility” after he posted several pictures and comments about atheism on Facebook.
Though Alexander has since been released from prison, he had to relocate from West Sumatra to avoid further harassment.
The same Religious Blasphemy Law also landed Tajul Muluk in prison in 2012. According to Amnesty International, Tajul ran a religious boarding school based on the teachings of Shia Islam in his home village in Sampang. Village leaders opposed Tajul’s “deviant” teachings, and this was the initial spark that eventually drove hundreds of Shia villagers away from their homes in Sampang after a mob attack in 2011.
The local police even launched a blasphemy case against Tajul, who was then sentenced to two years in prison, which was later extended to four. Tajul is still serving his prison sentence, while the hundreds of Shia villagers from Sampang have been forced to relocate to Sidoarjo, East Java.
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