Ahok’s family drops plan to file appeal
Jakarta: In a surprise move, the family of Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama dropped their plan to file an appeal against the two-year prison sentence handed down to the non-active Jakarta governor for blasphemy.
Initially, Ahok’s wife Veronica Tan planned to lodge the appeal at the North Jakarta District Court on Monday, but decided against it after discussing with Ahok’s legal team.
“After a long discussion, we have decided to withdraw our appeal. We will explain soon why our family finally made that decision,” Tan told reporters.
Meanwhile, one of Ahok’s lawyers, Rolas Sitinjak, said that Ahok’s family and his legal team would gather to discuss their next move.
Rolas said Ahok himself had argued that the public would be better served if he did not proceed with the appeal.
“To me, this shows that Ahok is a statesman, because he [is acting] for the greater good of the public,” Rolas said on Monday.
Despite the surprise move, the Jakarta High Court will continue with its plan to stage a hearing and reexamine the verdict based on a request from prosecutors.
Prosecutors had earlier filed an appeal against the two-year prison term for Ahok, arguing that the panel of judges had completely ignored their petition for the non-active governor to receive a probationary sentence.
The North District Jakarta Court found Ahok guilty of blasphemy on May 9, disregarding prosecutors’ previous demand of two years’ probation and one year in prison if he re-offended. — The Jakarta Post/ Asia News Network