A Protestant politician was sentenced to five months in an Indonesian jail for tweeting a remark considered insulting to Islam.
An Indonesian court on April 19 convicted Ferdinand Hutahaean of “hate speech” for a Twitter posting in which he called the god of Islam “weak,” reported the human rights group International Christian Concern. Suparman Nyompa, chairman of the judges’ council, said Hutahaean was “guilty of intentionally spreading fake news causing a stir in society.”
Hutahaean was arrested Jan. 10, and the prosecution requested a seven-month jail term. In 2019 elections, Hutahaean lost his bid for a national assembly seat in parliament, ICC stated.
Easy targets
Indonesia has a Muslim majority, and non-Muslims are easy targets for accusations of blasphemy against Islam. Two other Christians recently charged with insulting Islam on social media are Joseph Suyardi and Muhammad Kace.
Indonesia is No. 28 on Open Doors’ 2022 World Watch List of places most difficult to be a Christian.
