20-9-2023 (JAKARTA) A woman in Indonesia has been sentenced to two years in prison for violating the country’s blasphemy law after she posted a video on TikTok in which she recited a Muslim prayer before consuming pork. Lina Lutfiawati, also known as Lina Mukherjee, a self-identified Muslim, uploaded the video in March, in which she said the prayer before eating crispy pork skin.
Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, considers pork consumption as “haram” or forbidden under Islamic law. The court in Palembang, a city on Sumatra island, found Lina guilty of deliberately spreading information intended to incite hatred or enmity among individuals or groups based on religion, according to court documents. In addition to the prison sentence, she was ordered to pay a fine of 250 million Indonesian rupiah (approximately S$22,200).
Critics argue that Indonesia’s strict blasphemy laws have been increasingly used to undermine the country’s longstanding reputation for tolerance and diversity. Following the trial, Lina expressed surprise at the verdict during an interview with the local news station MetroTV, acknowledging her wrongdoing but not expecting such severe punishment.
Usman Hamid, the executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, criticized the use of the blasphemy article in Indonesian law, stating that it is often abused to target minority groups and dissenters. He further argued that such usage contradicts Indonesia’s international obligations to uphold and protect freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, as well as freedom of opinion and expression.
The blasphemy law has frequently been employed against individuals accused of insulting Islam. One notable case involved Jakarta’s former Christian governor Basuki “Ahok” Purnama, who was sentenced to two years in prison in 2017 on blasphemy charges widely viewed as politically motivated.
According to the court document, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), a prominent body of clerics, testified that Lina’s actions were blasphemous against Islam.
@inilahcom Lina Mukherjee, selebgram TikTok dengan dua juta pengikut yang dikenal menggemari artis Bollywood, mendapat masalah serius setelah video kontroversialnya viral di media sosial. Dalam video tersebut, Lina terlihat mencoba kriuk babi, padahal dia menganut agama Islam. Insiden ini kemudian mengundang kegeraman seorang ustaz asal Palembang, M Syarif Hidayat yang melaporkannya ke Polda Sumatera Selatan. #inilahviral #viral #linamukherjee #lina #makanbabi #islam #laporpolisi #selebgram #inilahcom #titiktengah #titikcerah ♬ Ngakak – Mas Gombal
