© Antara
Jakarta non-active governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's blasphemy case continued on Tuesday with the fifth hearing in the case taking place at the Agricultural Ministry's auditorium in South Jakarta.
Of the five witnesses scheduled to present their testimony against Ahok,only four were present, namely Pedri Kasman, Bogor Islam Forum secretary H. Willyudin Abdul Rasyid, cleric Irena Handono, and lawyer Muh. Burhanuddin, all of whom were individuals who had filed the blasphemy report to the police.
During the hearing, a representative from one of Ahok's legal advisors asked Pedri Kasman, secretary general of Muhammadiyah's youth wing, to note the losses he has suffered from Ahok's citing of the Quran verse al-Maidah 51.
"My loss is that my religion was offended. I feel that it disturbs my faith. This is not just about money and materials," said Pedri.
Pedri said he received information regarding Ahok's speech, which was taped and alter uploaded to YouTube,from a WhatsApp group message received in October 2016. He then checked and searched for the video on YouTube before holding a meeting with other members of the Muhammadiyah youth wing. He filed a report about his discoveries to the police on Oct. 7, 2016.
One of Ahoks lawyers, Sirra Prayuna, asked another witness, Irena, about tabayyun,a term in the Islamic law that refers to the act of seeking clarification regarding a dispute,and why she did not choose to do so in her capacity as a cleric.
Are you ready for the answer? Please note that tabayyun is [applicable] in the Islamic law. Indonesia is a state of the law [not an Islamic country]. If Islamic law was the basis,he would have been deported [from this country], she said as quoted by Republika.
I am a law-abiding citizen. Its the polices job to check and recheck [reported cases], while as a citizen I can only file a report.
Ahok, after listening to the witnesses, again denied all allegations, saying that he never intended to insult nor defame Islam in his statements.
Saying that I hate Islam is a slander. I have a moslem foster family, as I said in my defense session. In my house, I havea box for the gathering of donations to build a mosque. I was trusted to build a mosque! he said, as quoted by Detik.com.
The trial ended at midnight.
(brl/red)
