Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court jailed the leader of a minority religious sect for two years Thursday for blasphemy against Islam, a judgment quickly condemned by her lawyers and moderate religious leaders.
The sentence for the Kingdom of Eden leader Lia Aminuddin was three years lighter than the term recommended by prosecutors, who said they would appeal against the verdict.
In the judgment, presiding judge Lief Sujifullah ruled Lia was guilty of the charges of blasphemy and unbecoming conduct but said she was not guilty of inciting hatred against Islam through public displays of her faith.
The judges said prosecutors had not proven the last charge because Lia did not in her teachings speak out against other religious organizations, including the Indonesian Council of Ulema, which had called for her trial.
Lia and dozens of her followers were arrested on Dec. 28 after hundreds of hard-line Muslims protested outside the Kingdom of Eden headquarters in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
Lia, who believes she is both the Angel Gabriel and the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary, was declared a suspect along with her close confidante Abdurrahman. Her other followers were later freed by police.
The judges said Lia was guilty of blasphemy because she had in her actions dishonored the constitutionally recognized religion of Islam.
Chapter 11, Article 29, of the Constitution reads "the State shall be based upon the belief in the One and Only God", without specifying which religion. The second part of the article reads: "The State guarantees all persons the freedom of worship, each according to his/her own religion or belief."
In their ruling the judges said Lia had blasphemed Islam by practicing prayers in two languages, allowing the consumption of pork and making her own interpretations of the Koran.
They said Lia was also guilty of unbecoming conduct for having burned a nine-year old boy among her followers as part of a spiritual cleansing ritual.
The verdict was read out to Lia in the absence of her lawyers, who had earlier left the court in protest against the trial. Outside the court, they, along with several religious leaders, said the trial was a miscarriage of justice because people should not be prosecuted for their beliefs.
One of the judges, Ridwan Mansyur, said after the trial that Lia had been tried not because of her beliefs but for acting to dishonor Islam. "Everyone should be allowed to practice their beliefs, but don't dishonor other religions," he told Antara.
Lia reacted to the verdict by reading a lengthy sermon to her followers, who knelt before her.
One of Lia's lawyers, Erna Ratnaningsih, told the detik.com Internet newsportal that Lia would likely submit an appeal.
Moderate Muslim scholars have denounced the trial of Lia, which they said violated citizens' freedom to worship guaranteed under the Constitution.
Azyumardi Azra, a rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, said individuals should not be prosecuted by the state for holding beliefs different from the mainstream. However, he believed the Monday verdict was inevitable because Lia had mixed ideas from established religions, including Christianity and Islam.
"The case would've been different had she instead created an entirely new religion." "But what she did, especially as the affected religion is an established one, will always trigger complaints that the court will have to accommodate," he said.
Azyumardi said blasphemy was traditionally regulated in law, even in moderate Western countries. However, there was a difference in how this crime was punished, he said. "In the West, where people are becoming increasingly secular, the blasphemy law is rarely used. But here, there will always be complaints from the mainstream followers of an established religion," he said.