Jumat, 20 April 2012

[inti-net] Amnesty Demands Indonesia Drop Blasphemy Charges Against Shiite Leader

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/amnesty-demands-indonesia-drop-blasphemy-charges-against-shiite-leader/512286

Amnesty Demands Indonesia Drop Blasphemy Charges Against Shiite Leader

April 18, 2012

Rights group Amnesty International demanded on Wednesday that Indonesian
authorities drop blasphemy charges against Tajul Muluk, a local Shiite
leader displaced from his village in East Java's Madura Island, who is
currently under police detention.

Tajul was displaced with over 300 other Shiite villagers on Dec. 29, when
an anti-Shiite mob of some 500 people attacked and burned houses, a
boarding school and a Shiite place of worship in Nangkrenang village in
Sampang, Madura.

Afterwards most of the Shiite who were displaced by the attack returned to
Nangkrenang, but Tajul and about 20 other villagers, including his family,
were prevented from returning to the village by the attackers, who
reportedly threatened to kill them if they returned, and by police.

On Jan. 1, the Sampang branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued
an edict describing Tajul's teachings as "deviant," and then two days
later his own relative, Rois Al Hukuma, reported him to police for
blasphemy.

On March 16, the East Java Police charged Tajul with blasphemy, saying he
violated Article 156 of the Criminal Code on blasphemy and Article 335 on
"offensive actions."

Tajul is currently being detained at the Sampang prison awaiting trial.
His lawyers said they were concerned he would not receive a fair trial in
Sampang because of the strong presence of anti-Shiite groups there. They
are requesting his trial be moved to the provincial capital Surabaya,
according to Amnesty International.

"Amnesty International believes that these charges have been brought
against him solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of
thought, conscience and religion," Amnesty said in a press statement on
Wednesday.

"He is a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately and
unconditionally. These blasphemy laws are fundamentally incompatible with
Indonesia's international human rights obligations to protect and respect
freedom of expression, and freedom of thought, conscience, religion and
equality."

Amnesty also raised concerns about reports that Shiite villagers in
Sampang have continued to face intimidation and threats from individuals
trying to force them to denounce their beliefs.

Shiites are a minority Islamic sect in Indonesia. The majority of
Indonesian Muslims are Sunnis.
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