Ahok to Remain Behind Bars

Jakarta's jailed governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama will not appeal a two year prison sentence for committing blasphemy, his family said on Tuesday, drawing to a close one of the highest-profile—and most-divisive—court battles in recent history.

The former governor, a man popularly known as Ahok, was jailed two weeks ago, in a surprise ruling that sentenced him to two years behind bars instead of the probation originally requested by the prosecution. He had two weeks to file an appeal, and on Monday his legal team did, but 30 minutes later they reversed the decision.

On Tuesday, Veronica Tan tearfully read a letter written by her husband announcing the decision at a press conference held in a gado-gado restaurant in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

"I know it must not be easy for you to accept reality—much less I—but I have learned to forgive and accept all of this," Veronica read from her husband's statement. "This is for the greater good for our nation and country."

When asked how she felt about the decision, Veronica told reporters that her family was ready to accept the court's ruling and move on.

"We've had enough," Veronica told local media. "We're just going to live with it."

Ahok's sister said that the family decided to end their court battle after much consideration.

"We made the decision to withdraw the appeal after a long discussion with the family," Fifi Lety Indra, Ahok's sister, told CNN Indonesia the night before the decision was formally announced.

Ahok was convicted of committing blasphemy when he questioned an interpretation of the Islamic verse "Al Maidah 51" that some see as barring Muslims from voting for a non-Muslim leader at a campaign event in the city's Thousand Islands district. Indonesia's Islamist groups quickly capitalized on the statement, organizing a series of massive protests calling for his arrest that severely hurt the once-popular governor's re-election bid.

Human rights groups have called the verdict a dangerous precedent and a serious blow for religious tolerance in this Muslim-majority nation. But the governor's critics and those in opposition parties like Gerindra argue that the verdict is just.

"Let's assume the best out of this," Habiburokhman, a Gerindra politician, told local media. "Perhaps he realized that what he did in Thousands Islands was wrong and two years in prison is justified."

The Gerindra party will now be in charge of the Indonesian capital once Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno take control of City Hall this October.

One of Ahok's lawyers said the legal team had a different reason when decided to withdraw their appeal—avoiding a harsher sentence. Indonesia's higher courts have repeatedly handed down even harsher sentences on unsuccessful appeals, which always presents a serious risk in a highly politicized case like this. Ahok was sentenced to two years behind bars, but the charge he faced carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

"Ahok said that if we appeal, the punishment might be increased," attorney Darwin Aritonang told local media. "If we go ahead to the high court, the punishment might be increased. It's possible that his political rights could be revoked."

Another member of his legal team said that Ahok didn't want to risk angering the country's conservative elements ahead of Ramadan—the holiest month on the Islamic calendar which begins this weekend.

"This shows that he has great respect for Muslims," attorney Ronny Talapessy told local media. "He doesn't want more protests if he moves forward with an appeal, which would district Muslims from worshipping during Ramadan."

In a bizarre twist, there is still a second appeal in the pipeline filed by the prosecution that aims to determine why the panel of judges at the North Jakarta District Court ignored their position in the case. The prosecution's case claimed that Ahok had caused "hostility, hatred, or offense toward a certain group." But the judges tried Ahok for blasphemy, a harsher crime, instead.

Some have pinned their hopes for Ahok's early release on this separate appeal, but most legal experts see the appeal as just an attempt to uphold the professionalism of the prosecutors office. The prosecution's appeal will, in all likelihood, have little impact on Ahok's sentence, experts explained.