Brothers Get Six-and-a-Half Months in Prison for Incitement Against Ahok
Jakarta. Brothers Rizal and Jamran were sentenced to six months and 15 days in prison each by the South Jakarta District Court on Monday (05/06) for incitement on social media against former Jakarta governor, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, last year.
"Rizal has been convincingly proven guilty of the crime as he deliberately [...] spread dissent against an individual and, or a particular group of people based on ethnicity, religion, race, and other social divisions. This was done repeatedly," said Ratmoho, head of the panel of judges.
He was also fined Rp 10 million ($750), or another month in jail.
The court found that the brothers have violated the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law.
Prosecutors initially demanded a one-year prison term and a fine of Rp 75 million, or an additional two months in prison, for Rizal and a 10-year prison term and a fine of Rp 50 million, or an additional month in prison, for Jamran. Rizal is a member of the so-called Komando Barisan Rakyat (People's Command.)
Police arrested the two brothers and charged them with incitement on social media, specifically on Twitter. Their repeated posts on social media were considered provocative as it could have resulted in intergroup conflict.
The two brothers and their lawyers will review the verdict before deciding whether to appeal.
Rizal and Jamran were arrested along with other high-profile figures, including Sri Pamungkas, Kivlan Zein, Adityawarman, Ratna Sarumpaet, Firza Husein, Eko, Alvin Indra, Rachmawati Sukarnoputri and Ahmad Dhani before an anti-Ahok mass rally in Jakarta on Dec. 12 last year.
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