TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Lawyer I Wayan Sudarta said that blasphemy trial of defendant Basuki Tjahaja Purnama alias Ahok is political.
“It’s 99.9 percent political. One day, it will be revealed, the masterminds [will be found out],” he told reporters in Central Jakarta on Friday, April 21, 2017. He said that Ahok, who had 74 percent approval rating, would have been unbeatable in a healthy competition.
Wayan argued that public prosecutors hesitated in seeking 1 year in jail and 2 year probation period for Ahok. “They realized that they had no proof. If [Ahok] had violated the law, [the prosecutors] wouldn’t have sought probation,” he said.
Wayan pointed to some evidence presented during the trial. Under article 184 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the admissible evidence comprises of witness testimony, expert witness testimony, documentary, leads and defendant’s testimony.
“12 witnesses being brought were not present on the Seribu Islands during the incident; all witnesses …have their own agenda; the MUI’s [Indonesia Ulema Council] decree does not have the same value as the laws and is not binding. Lastly, Ahok only cited comments that he heard in Bangka Belitung [election back in 2007],” Wayan said.
He also questioned the speed with which the MUI decree was issued.
Notwithstanding the ongoing legal proceedings, Wayan closed his comment by calling for harmony after the regional election. He stressed that the trial by the mob should never happen again.
On April 26, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama is slated to read his own closing argument aloud. His legal team said that he want to prove the lack of bad intent in his speech on the Seribu Islands.
AGHNIADI
