{"id":98102,"date":"2023-09-21T05:47:18","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T05:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/turbocelebrity.com\/?p=98102"},"modified":"2023-09-21T05:47:18","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T05:47:18","slug":"i-did-not-expect-it-tiktok-influencer-jailed-for-saying-prayer-before-eating-pork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/turbocelebrity.com\/world-news\/i-did-not-expect-it-tiktok-influencer-jailed-for-saying-prayer-before-eating-pork\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I did not expect it\u2019: TikTok influencer jailed for saying prayer before eating pork"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jakarta: <\/strong>An Indonesian court has sentenced a woman to two years in prison for violating the country\u2019s blasphemy law after she posted a video on social media site TikTok in which she said a Muslim prayer before eating pork.<\/p>\n Indonesia is the largest Muslim-majority nation in the world and pork is considered haram, or not permissible, under Islam.<\/p>\n The court ordered Lina Mukherjee to pay a fine of 250 million rupiah ($25,274), on top of the jail sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n Lina Lutfiawati, also known as Lina Mukherjee, who identifies as Muslim according to court documents, posted a video TikTok in March in which she said the prayer, which translates to \u201cin the name of God\u201d, before eating some meat from a plate that also contained crispy pork skin.<\/p>\n The court in Palembang, on Sumatra island, sentenced Lina found she deliberately \u201cspread information that was intended to incite hate or individual\/group enmity based on religion\u201d and sentenced her on Tuesday, according to a court document.<\/p>\n It ordered her to pay a fine of 250 million rupiah ($25,274), on top of the jail sentence.<\/p>\n Critics have said the country\u2019s strict blasphemy laws have been used to erode a long-standing reputation for tolerance and diversity in the South-East Asian country.<\/p>\n After the trial, Lina told reporters she was surprised by the verdict.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that I am wrong but I did not expect this punishment,\u201d Lina said on the local news station MetroTV.<\/p>\n Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, said the blasphemy article in the law had been abused to target minority groups and dissenters.<\/p>\n \u201cIt contravenes Indonesia\u2019s international obligations in relation to respect and protection for freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief, freedom of opinion and expression,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The law has mostly been used against those deemed to have insulted Islam, including Jakarta\u2019s former governor Basuki \u201cAhok\u201d Purnama, a Christian, who was sentenced to two years in prison in 2017 for blasphemy, on charges widely seen as politically motivated.<\/p>\n The Indonesian Ulema Council, a top body of Islamic scholars, told the court that Lina\u2019s action was blasphemous against Islam, according to the court document.<\/p>\n Reuters<\/strong><\/p>\n Get a note directly from our foreign <\/i><\/b>correspondents <\/i><\/b>on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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