Muhammadiyah Youth Warns Against Possible Ethical Breach in Ahok Blasphemy Trial

Alin Almanar
December 6, 2016 | 7:11 pm
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Youth leaders of Muhammadiyah have requested prosecutors and judicial commissioners to make sure no ethical breach occurs during Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama's upcoming blasphemy trial. (Antara Photo/Reno Esnir)
Youth leaders of Muhammadiyah have requested prosecutors and judicial commissioners to make sure no ethical breach occurs during Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama's upcoming blasphemy trial. (Antara Photo/Reno Esnir)

Jakarta. Youth leaders of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-largest Muslim organization, have requested prosecutors and judicial commissioners to make sure no ethical breach occurs during Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama's upcoming blasphemy trial.

The trial will commence on Dec. 13.

The North Jakarta District Court has appointed a panel of five judges, led by court chairman Dwiarso Budi Santiarto, who pledged not bow to public pressure.

The Muhammadiyah youth however, alleged that "there were indications of an ethical breach in the appointment of judges."

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"We hope the Judicial Commission will monitor the case," the group's chairman Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak and secretary Pedri Kasman said in a letter sent to the commission on Monday (06/12).

A doctored video of a speech Ahok made on Pramuka Island in Jakarta's Thousand Islands district in September went viral and prompted several Muslim groups to report him to the police for blasphemy.

Police declared the governor a suspect last month amid mounting pressure from hardline Muslim groups and a series of mass protests demanding his immediate arrest.

According to Dahnil, the high-profile case against the governor, who is a Christian of Chinese ethnicity, is prone to ethics violations.

"The results will be extremely bad if the trial outcome doesn't meet the public sense of justice," he told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday.

The Muhammadiyah leaders also sent a similar letter to the Prosecution Commission, saying that "monitoring is important to avoid potential ethical breaches, which might be committed by the court and prosecutors."

"This is to ensure the trial will be free from any interference," they said.

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