Attorney General HM Prasetyo Mulls Dropping Appeal in Ahok Case
8 June 2017 10:10 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Attorney General HM Prasetyo is mulling dropping the appeal in the blasphemy case implicating non-active Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama alias Ahok. He reasoned that Ahok has accepted the sentence given by the panel of judges of the North Jakarta District Court.
“Ahok has accepted the verdict, so, we better focus on other important cases,” Attorney General HM Prasetyo said in Jakarta yesterday.
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He stressed that the public prosecutors are still studying further the benefits of the appeal. Prasetyo could not confirm when the appeal will be withdrawn.
The Attorney General had earlier denied political motives behind the appeal. The allegation arose since Prasetyo is a cadre of the National Democrat (Nasdem) Party who endorsed Ahok in Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Read also: Ahok Resigns from Governor Post
According to him, the subject matters brought up in the appeal filed by Ahok and that of the public prosecutors are different.
Prasetyo said that Ahok had filed an appeal to seek a reduced sentence, whereas the public prosecutors are questioning the panel of judges’ judgment that Ahok was found guilty of blasphemy, despite the fact that prosecutors pointed out that Ahok had caused incitement.
“We do need to file an appeal,” Prasetyo said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
YOHANES PASKALIS
