Callistasia Anggun Wijaya, Jakarta – Lawyers of Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama concluded that "the trial by mob" against the non-active governor that had started since the beginning of his blasphemy case was apparent in the testimony of Bogor Islam Forum secretary Willyudin Abdul Rasyid, a prosecution witness in the sixth hearing of Ahok's trial on Tuesday.
In the hearing, the defense team said, Willyudin admitted he had forced Bogor Police officers to file his report on Ahok's alleged blasphemy or otherwise he would have called on thousands of Muslims to raid the police station.
"Willyudin's testimony shows that Ahok has been on trial since the case emerged, or when he reported Ahok to the police," Ahok's lawyer Fifi Lety Indra said Wednesday.
Ahok's other lawyer, Humphrey Djemat, similarly stated the trial by mob against Ahok had occurred not only in the large scare rallies against the governor on Nov. 4 and Dec. 2 last year, but also in Willyudin's police report.
During Tuesday's hearing, the lawyer said, Willyudin himself acknowledged that he had insisted Bogor police officers accept his report, even though they had initially suggested him to file the report to the criminal detective unit of the Jakarta Police.
The police officers made the suggestion because Ahok's alleged blasphemy occurred in Thousand Islands regency, Jakarta.
"I stated that if they didn't file my report, thousands of Muslims would come [to the police station]. This was not because I wanted to force [the police], but because it is a mandate for every Muslim [to protect Islam's honor]," Willyudin said. (ebf)