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Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Jakarta on September 6 to attend the ASEAN-India Summit and will be back the…
Jakarta's Christian governor may escape jail for alleged blasphemy after prosecutors on Thursday recommended only probation, a day after he lost in a religiously charged run-off that damaged Indonesia's image as a bastion of tolerant Islam.
The recommendation of two years probation in the trial of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, with a possible one-year jail term if he commits a crime during that period, was lighter than expected as he could have been sent to prison for several years.
The sentence demand for allegedly insulting Islam came after he was defeated yesterday by a Muslim challenger who was accused of pandering to hardliners to win votes in the race for the Jakarta governorship.
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The blasphemy allegations and Purnama's subsequent poll loss have sparked fears that pluralistic traditions in the world's most populous Muslim country are under threat from the influence of hardliners, who pushed for the governor's prosecution during a series of mass protests.
Chief prosecutor Ali Mukartono recommended that Purnama, known by his nickname Ahok, be found guilty of blasphemy and be given two years probation, with a possible one-year jail sentence.
"If within the two years, Ahok doesn't commit any new criminal act, like corruption, stealing… he will be free," his lawyer I Wayan Sudirta told AFP.
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