Prosecutors File Appeal Against Ahok's Blasphemy Sentence
Jakarta. Prosecutors proceeded on Wednesday (24/05) with their appeal against Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's blasphemy sentence, submitting appeal documents to the Jakarta High Court, a court spokesman said.
The prosecutors can still withdraw the appeal until the Jakarta High Court makes a decision on whether or not to accept the submission.
It also means the North Jakarta District Court's guilty verdict is not yet legally binding, despite Ahok's defense team having withdrawn its own appeal on Monday.
Prosecutors said on Tuesday they would consider appealing against the blasphemy sentence, where the outgoing Jakarta governor was sentenced to two years in prison.
"The appeal documents are with the High Court now. If the prosecutors want to withdraw the appeal, they can still do so as long as the High Court has not made a decision on it," North Jakarta District Court spokesman Hasoloan Sianturi told the Jakarta Globe.
Prosecutors recommended last month that Ahok be charged under Article 156 instead of Article 156a for blasphemy. The prosecution also recommended that if he were to be convicted, a probation term of two years with a possible one-year prison term would be appropriate.
They submitted their appeal to the North Jakarta District Court just days after the blasphemy verdict, which also ordered the immediate detention of Ahok, who is currently held in the police's Mobile Brigade headquarters in Depok, West Java.
A Positive Sign
A legal expert welcomed the prosecution's decision to file an appeal.
"The prosecution is filing an appeal on the grounds that the sentence is manifestly excessive," Mika Vaswani, a former public prosecutor a the Attorney-General's Chambers of Singapore said.
"There is a misconception that the prosecution's goal is to seek the harshest possible sentence – but that is not true. The prosecution has a duty to seek a sentence that is just and proportional to the crime committed," Vaswani said.
Vaswani also said that this a step in the right direction, proving that the prosecution is prepared to stay impartial in the interests of justice.
"The very fact that the prosecution has decided to appeal the sentence is a positive sign, restoring faith and credibility in the criminal justice system in Indonesia," she said.
"The decision to appeal the sentence, whether it be manifestly inadequate or excessive would apply whether or not the convicted person is a governor or a layman," she added.
"For a criminal justice system to evolve, decisions must be challenged and judges must be held accountable and all parties must be prepared to justify their decisions reached with a higher authority," Vaswani said.
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