Team Formed to Investigate Abdul Somad's Alleged Blasphemy
Translator
Ricky Mohammad Nugraha
Editor
Laila Afifa
Rabu, 21 Agustus 2019 21:40 WIB
Muslim cleric Abdul Somad in a press conference with Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in Jakarta, Wednesday, August 21, 2019. TEMPO/Subekti
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian National Police (Polri) has formed a dedicated team tasked to investigate the alleged blasphemy by Islamic cleric Abdul Somad.
“Every report the Bareskrim receives are being studied,” said Indonesian National Police’s Spokesman Brigadier General Dedi Prasetyo at the police HQ in South Jakarta on Wednesday, August 21.
The preacher had been reported to the police by two mass-organizations; Horas Bangso Batak and Gerakan Mahasiswa Kristen Indonesia. He was reported to the police after an old recording showed a statement of his mentioning the Christian cross, which Abdul defended was initially a response to a question asked by a guest at him at the time.
Bareskrim’s cybercrime directorate Senior Commissioner Rickynaldo Chairul said the final investigation may well be compiled into one criminal report that will be handled directly by the criminal investigation agency.
“It would be collected as a single police report. We’ll have to wait for the Chief’s final decision on whether it would be handled by a joint team or will it be handled under each police directory,” said Rickynaldo.