Daily Ummat ■ The defendant in the case of religious blasphemy and hate speech, Apollinaris Darmawan (70 years), was charged with six years in prison and a fine of Rp. 800 thousand.
This was revealed in the 5th trial which was held at the Bandung District Court (PN), Jl RE Martadinata, Bandung City, on Tuesday (24/11/2020).
In the trial without the presence of the defendant, the Public Prosecutor (JPU) Martahan Napitupulu SH read out the results of the statements of all expert witnesses who were presented in the previous trial by the prosecutor.
All testified that the defendant was guilty of violating the law, especially Article 28 paragraph (2) of the ITE Law. For this reason, the prosecutor's demands are criminal penalties with reference to Article 28 paragraph (2) of the ITE Law as regulated in Article 45A paragraph (2) of Law 19/2016.
"Requesting the panel of judges at the Bandung District Court to find the defendant guilty of violating the ITE Law. And then asked the panel of judges to sentence him to six years in prison and a fine of Rp. 800 thousand, a subsidiary of four months imprisonment, "said Martahan.
Before submitting a criminal charge, the prosecutor conveyed it by considering things that were burdensome. Among other things, the defendant's actions caused divisions between religious communities. Then damage the harmony between the people.
"Apart from that, the defendant was previously imprisoned with the same case. The defendant did not regret his actions and allowed the video to be spread until now and there was no intention to delete it, "added the prosecutor.
Hearing the prosecutor's demands, Ebenezer Damanik SH as the defendant's legal advisor stated that the prosecutor's demands were maximal. However, he admitted that the prosecution's demands were too heavy.
"If you look at the age of the defendant who is 70 years old, it is too heavy," he said.
For that he will make a defense (pledoi) at the next trial which will be scheduled for next Tuesday. On this occasion the defendant was not present and only attended via video conference.
source: SI