Man gets 5 years for blasphemy

JAKARTA (JP): The man whose trial sparked a major religious riot in East Java last month, was sentenced to five years in jail yesterday after he was found guilty on charges of blasphemy.

With security personnel on high alert, the Situbondo court in East Java, sentenced Saleh, 28, for making blasphemous comments about Islam. He did not appeal.

Yesterday's sentencing passed without incident.

During the Oct. 10 hearing, people attending the trial ran amok after prosecutors demanded five years for the accused. The crowd considered the demanded sentence too lenient.

The crowd destroyed the court house and torched over 20 churches, several Catholic elementary schools and an orphanage after it was rumored that the defendant had sought refuge inside a church. At least five people died in the incident.

The riots precipitated to some of the neighboring towns.

The incident brought calls for calm from religious leaders and sparked a debate on religious tolerance in Indonesia.

Under the watchful eyes of police and military, over 100 people packed the court gallery yesterday while another 1,000 listened through speakers outside the court building.

There were no reports of violent outbreaks. (mds)