Indonesia hard-liners call for jailing of Christian governor

JAKARTA: Thousands of conservative Muslims took to the streets of the Indonesian capital to call for the jailing of its minority Christian governor who is on trial on charges of blaspheming the Qur’an.
At least several thousand white-robed protesters marched after Friday prayers at Istiqlal Mosque in central Jakarta until reaching the nearby Supreme Court building.
The protest comes just days before a district court announces its verdict in Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s blasphemy trial.
Some of the protesters held flags, banners and placards that said “Justice must be upheld” and “Ahok, the blasphemer of Islam, must be jailed.”
Prosecutors last month recommended a two-year suspended prison sentence for Ahok. The light sentencing demand followed his defeat by a Muslim candidate in a runoff election for Jakarta governor.