We have been following the increasing abuse of the legal system in Indonesia, including the application of Sharia law. Now, an atheist (identified only as Alexander) has been arrested and faced five years in jail for questioning the existence of God on his Facebook page. It is the latest blasphemy arrest, discussed earlier in a column.
Dharmasraya Police Chief Sr. Comr. Chairul Aziz stated that Alexander, 31, a civil servant in West Sumatra, is charged with blasphemy. He said that it was better for Alexander to be in police custody anyway given the threats against his life and that he is being advised by “the West Sumatra Coordinating Agency to Supervise Religion and Beliefs (Bakorpakem) as well as the Ministry of Religious Affairs.”
Alexander was previously attacked after he wrote that “God does not exist” on “Ateis Minang” (“Minang Atheists”), his Facebook site. There is no word on any arrests of the attackers but they did arrest the atheist.
The violence against atheists is encouraged by Western leaders and religious figures who have denounced them as akin to terrorists or simply a threat to humanity. Atheists are now ranked with rapists in polls.
As the Obama Administration continues to work with such nations to develop speech codes vis-a-vis religion, these cases show the mentality of countries pushing for a “balance” between free speech and religion. It also shows why the use of the Brandenburg standard is so dangerous in the hands of such officials who view free speech as the cause of imminent violence.
Source: Jakarta Globe
If we could only learn to leave each other alone …
Remind to stay out of Indonesia!
Would not arresting an Atheist be the same as questioning the existence of Allah?
from your previous post:
embrace the standard of “imminent violent speech” from Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969)”
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The Brandenburg phrase is “immanent lawless action”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imminent_lawless_action
The meaning is speech that is intended to incite such action against some other target, not speech that tends to get the speaker killed.
If you fly over Indonesia make sure to flush the toilet over Sumatra. If God existed he would have given that guy down in Alabama a lawyer or those kids in that school their couger. Dog spelled backwards would like to know if any sitting member of the .U.S. Supreme Court has ever represented a defendant in a jury trial or going one further represented a defendnat in a murder case that went to jury verdict..
Feels like the same would happen here to any person running for political office, seems G-d and being a ‘christian” (that is at least in name…) is requisite.
martiingugino
did you really mean “immanent”, although your link has imminent in it????
they mean different things as i guess you know. mistake??
immanent implies existing everywhere, a part of everything.
imminent refers to time, as is used to justify TSA groping in view that a passenger can be an imminent danger on a flight, and that time does not allow for fomalities to be observed. Just as police frisking a suspect, etc.
not to be picky, but want to understand your point.
This is wrong,he was just posing a question,not just saying anything,for the hell of it.Also if your belief systems (or faith)in something is strong enough,and your happy in yourself,I really can’t see the problem,just the sheer intolarance of that region.
Blasphemy laws must go in whatever form they take. For another report of such an abuse, see http://www.barnabasaid.org/Christian-businessman-charged-with-blasphemy-in-Egypt-over-tweet.html
Does Indonesia allow for spectral evidence to be admitted in court?
It would be really helpful if god-the-fugitive would just show up, and resolve the whole matter instantly.
I mean, if animals were put on trial during the medieval period in Europe (at times being sentenced, at others, acquitted), then animals have made a way more significant contribution to justice than these gods have.