KUALA LUMPUR: Critics in Indonesia are lashing out at the Indonesian judicial system after it sentenced a man to two and a half years in jail for publicly acknowledging he was an atheist. Alexander Aan, 32, was also given a fine of Rp 100 million ($11,000) after he told people on Facebook that he was atheist. Activists in the country have condemned the ruling, saying it will harm freedom of speech and liberties in the country. But the West Sumatra court disagreed. The verdict was lighter than the three-and-a-half years without a fine sought by prosecutors. Aan is believed to be the first person in Indonesia to ever be imprisoned for being an atheist. He said he accepted the court's ruling. “I accept the judgment and will abide by it. For me, faith is a personal matter and I have expressed my regret and apology to every party, including my family,” he said in comments published by the Jakarta Post. In the verdict, presiding judge Eka Prasetya Budi Dharma said Alexander was proven guilty of blasphemy against Islam and insulting the Prophet Muhammad through his personal Facebook account “Alex Aan” and the “Ateis Minang” Facebook group, of which he was an administrator. “We establish that the defendant committed the act intentionally because he objected when other parties protested his posts and he did not immediately remove a number of posts in the Ateis Minang group despite the fact that as an administrator he had the authority to do so,” said Eka. According to the judges, Alexander's actions violated Article 28 of Law No. 11/2008 on Information and Electronic Transactions because he had spread information that had caused hatred and enmity against individuals and groups based on tribal affiliations, religion, race and societal groups (SARA). The judge also mentioned Alexander's open declaration that he was an atheist, which could be read by many people. This was not acceptable behavior for a citizen and civil servant under the state ideology of Pancasila and the Constitution, which obliges every citizen to have a religion. Despite their judicial victory, prosecutors have filed for an appeal. Prosecutor Syahril Jasman said he was not satisfied with the sentence, which he deemed too lenient. Criticism The online community in Indonesia is up in arms over the ruling, saying the ruling could spark more arrests and online snooping of personal accounts on social media websites. “This is a very difficult ruling to digest,” activist Nihal Islam told Bikyamasr.com on Saturday, arguing that for her, “it is something that I will now have to think about when I post something on Twitter or Facebook.” Others criticized the entire process of the case, arguing it should not have come to fruition in the first place. Legal experts question why the court, and the prosecutor, would waste time and state money to try a man who was not harming society. But the prosecution argued it affects all of Indonesia, which is an Islamic country. For Islam and other young bloggers and activists, Aan is likely to become a symbol for free speech. She said that “already we at universities and in online forums are angry and I do believe we will protest for Alex's release because it is not right that he is in jail for being honest about his beliefs. As a Muslim, I believe there is no compulsion in religion, as the Qur'an says.”
