Indonesia: Elderly Christian Man Serving Second Prison Term for Blasphemy Against Islam
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – An elderly Christian man in West Java province, Indonesia is now serving a second prison term for blasphemy on the grounds he insulted the Muslim prophet Mohammed in social media posts that were critical of Islam, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.
Aged 74, Apollinaris Darmawan is serving a sentence imposed by the Bandung District Court in 2020, ICC reports. He is charged with blasphemy offenses which carry a maximum sentence of five years in jail.
A long-term critic of Islamic teachings, Darmawan was found guilty of “disseminating information aimed at causing hatred or dissension on individuals and certain groups of community based on ethnic groups, religions, races, and inter-groups.”
Darmawan was first sentenced to four years’ imprisonment in 2017, when he was charged with insulting Islam ICC said. He was freed briefly in March 2020 as part of an effort to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19, but was soon back in jail.
ICC sent local staff to visit Darmawan to find out how he is doing. “Darmawan is now 74 years old, and despite three years in prison, he looked strong and healthy,” ICC said. “Darmawan still fervently believes his challenge of Islamic teaching is the truth according to his faith in Jesus Christ,” ICC reports.
While Christianity is constitutionally legal in Indonesia, the Muslim-majority country ranks 33 on the US Open Doors World Watch List 2023 of top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.
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