Another Nail in Freedom’s Coffin – Indonesian Atheist Jailed for ‘Blasphemy!’


Alex Aan

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Those of us who care about Indonesia have little to cheer about these days.

Gramedia’s despicable conduct, their slavish compliance with the IslamoNazi ultimatum to withdraw a reputable book on silly grounds of ‘blasphemy,’ were last night echoed in the fate of an ordinary civil servant who was mobbed, assaulted, arrested and prosecuted, simply for being an atheist!

Now he has had what passes for a ‘fair trial’ here in Indonesia today, and been sentenced to TWO and a HALF YEARS imprisonment.

Alexander Aan, 32, a Minang civil servant who was arrested for blasphemy after he declared himself an atheist on a social media website, was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment and a Rp 100 million (US$10,600) fine by the Negeri Muaro District Court in West Sumatra on Thursday.

Presiding judge Eka Prasetya Budi Dharma said Alexander had been proven guilty of defaming Islam and insulting the Prophet Muhammad through his Facebook account and a fan page titled Ateis Minang (Minang Atheist).Jakarta Post 14/6

Unbelievably, this was lighter than the prosecution wanted ( three to five years!)

The sheer backward mentality of much of the judiciary shone through in the summing up, when Alex’s specific ‘crimes’ were mentioned.

The judge cited several sentences deemed defamatory, such as Muhammad tertarik kepada menantunya sendiri (Muhammad was attracted to his own daughter-in-law) and Kisah Nabi Muhammad bersenggama dengan babu istrinya (The story of Prophet Muhammad having sexual intercourse with his wife’s maid).

Eka concluded, therefore, that the defendant had violated Article 28 of the Information and Electronic Transaction Law by spreading racial and religious hatred.

Racial and religious hatred? Hogwash – he simply mentioned a few things that might make people ponder, debate…ooops. sorry!

Pondering and debating is what mature people do, hence not applicable to the sort we’re up against, the likes of that MUI bigot up there in Sumatra, the creep in the photo below.

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Gusrizal of MUI, a Vindictive Bigot

  • The MUI’s Gusrizal Gazahar it was who said when this case began, if Alex refused to repent, he should lose his job. “I want him to be fired.”

But there are worse still. The hoodlum outfit that’s running today’s mob-fest at Gramedia, the FUI, Indonesian Umat Forum, whose Fuhrer wants Alex dead!

FUI’s Khaththath


… a five-year jail term would not suffice. “He deserves the death penalty, even if he decides to repent. What he has done cannot be tolerated”, FUI secretary general Muhammad al-Khaththath was quoted as saying by AFP on February 2. “It is important to prevent this group from spreading atheism in this country.”

http://directaction.org.au/issue38/indonesian_faces_jail_for_saying_god_does_not_exist_on_facebook_0

What mean-spirited, monstrous men these are!

Although poor Alex has apologised (understandably, in a legal system where freedom of expression is an alien concept) his lawyer plans to appeal. “The fine of Rp 100 million makes no sense because no one suffered any financial loss in this case,” Deddi said, adding that the case should have been handled by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Alex’s woes began in January, when he was arrested for blasphemy after creating a Facebook fan page.

Prior to his arrest, a crowd of typically yellow-bellied Islamist thugs jumped him – not one of them has been charged with any offence.

Hey-ho! Another giant leap forward for the ‘world’s largest Muslim democracy!’ 

What was all that meaningless pap Foreign Minister Marty spouted at the UN Human Rights Council last month?

What were those MUI fanatics saying about how wrong it was to allege intolerance in this country?

Are Marty and the MUI leadership rushing to Sumatra this morning, to protest this latest court iniquity?

Not a chance. 

Marty’s probably having a fancy breakfast in his posh mansion, while the MUI will no doubt be crowing with glee.