Jakarta – Chief Comr. Agus Rohmat, a member of the Jakarta Police's legal team, said Buni Yani, the man who uploaded a heavily edited video of a speech by Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama in which he allegedly insulted the Koran and eventually led to a blasphemy allegation against him, had done so intentionally to make the video "go viral" and discredit the governor.

Agus made the comment before a pre-trial hearing for Buni – who is now accused of slander against Ahok – at the South Jakarta District Court on Friday (16/12), where judges were scheduled to hear testimonies from experts presented by the police.

"According to our expert witness [information and technology expert from the Communications Ministry, Teguh Arifiyadi] Buni posted the [Ahok] video with the intention to make it go viral and defame Ahok," Agus said at the courthouse.

The police lawyer said article 28 paragraph 2 of the Indonesia's internet law (ITE Law) forbids individuals and organizations from intentionally spreading information that discriminate people on the basis of their race, religion, ethnicity or social groups.

"Since [Buni] uploaded the video himself, he is responsible for it. He would've known about the implications," Agus said.

Teguh after the pre-trial said only the judges can decide whether or not Buni had any intention to commit slander against Ahok.

"The judges will have to weigh up the evidence. The ITE Law says that 'logging in' into a social media account constitutes an intention to spread information to the public, but it's not in my place to say if what Buni did violated article 28 paragraph 2 of the law, that he did it deliberately to defame Ahok," Teguh said.

Buni had made the request for a pre-trial hearing after the Jakarta Police declared he was a suspect in a defamation case against Ahok. Buni is facing a maximum of six years in prison, or a Rp 1 billion ($75,000) fine.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/news/buni-yani-intentionally-made-ahoks-video-viral-police-lawyers/