ABSTRACT
My aim in this chapter is to provide a comprehensive discussion of the events that preceded Ahok’s blasphemy trial. I commence by discussing four key events that preceded Ahok’s indictment. I identify these four events in particular for the simple reason that Ahok’s lawyers also identified them in their defence submissions, as events that contributed to both the decision of the criminal division of Indonesia’s police force to charge Ahok with blasphemy and the decision of the North Jakarta Attorney-General and General Prosecutor to indict. In chronological order, those events are:
Ahok’s remarks themselves and the context in which they were delivered;
the online dissemination of a 30-second video excerpt of Ahok delivering those remarks and the public fallout that ensued;
the issuance by the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) of a ‘Religious Opinion and Stance’ (Pendapat dan Sikap Keagamaan) declaring Ahok’s remarks to be blasphemous and an insult to both the ulama and the umma (Islamic population); and
several large-scale ‘Action to Defend Islam’ (Aksi Bela Islam) demonstrations, ostensibly orchestrated by the National Movement to Guard the MUI Fatwa (Gerakan Nasional Pengawal Fatwa MUI, GNPF-MUI), which placed extraordinary pressure on law enforcement authorities to charge and indict Ahok for his remarks.
I then discuss the pretrial formalities, namely the issuing of the proceeding against Ahok and the interlocutory processes that followed.