JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The Latest on the blasphemy trial of the Indonesian capital’s minority Christian governor, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama (all times local):
12:30 p.m.
Ronny Talampessy, a lawyer for the Indonesian capital’s minority Christian governor, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, says Ahok has been taken to a prison in Jakarta following a court’s decision to sentence him to two years in jail for blaspheming the Quran.
Ahok has said he will appeal the verdict. It’s unclear whether he would be released once the appeal is underway.
Television footage showed an armored police van arriving at the prison on Tuesday and journalists waiting for Ahok to emerge.
Wayan Sudirta, another lawyer for Ahok, said there was “so much pressure” for Ahok to be imprisoned. He said, “We can understand but we cannot accept the verdict. Therefore we will appeal.”
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11:20 a.m.
Jakarta Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama says he will appeal a guilty verdict and two-year prison sentence for blasphemy.
The sentencing Tuesday was a shock to his supporters after prosecutors had recommended two years of probation. Members of hard-line Muslim groups gathered outside the court in north Jakarta were jubilant.
The lead judge said the trial was a purely criminal one and the court disagreed that there were political aspects to the case.
