Jakarta – A resident of Garut, West Java, was detained by the police on Saturday in relation to a mobile game application that contained insults to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
The app, a card game called Remi Indonesia, was first released on the Google Playstore by a developer called ParagiSoft in 2015, but only recently became viral due to it's loading screen, which puts the words "Prophet Muhammad" and "Islam" next to an expletive. The app is now no longer available in the Playstore.
West Java police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko confirmed that a Garut resident identified by the initials IG was detained by police on Saturday.
"It's true that the National Police's Bareskrim [Criminal Investigation Department] cyber directorate detained [IG]," Trunoyudo said on Monday as quoted by tribunnews.com, adding that he was not sure what IG would be charged with.
Rafani Achyar, the secretary of the West Java branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) condemned the game and said he supported the police's actions.
"Basically we condemn [the game]. No insults are permitted against the Prophet Muhammad," he said. "Because of that, we support the police to investigate and handle this case."
Blasphemy is punishable under Articles 156 and 156a of the Criminal Code, while insulting a religion online is punishable under Article 28 of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law. (kmt)