Jakarta’s Guv appeals blasphemy conviction

Jakarta: Jakarta’s jailed Christian governor on Monday appealed his conviction for blaspheming Islam, his legal team said, as the United Nations stepped up pressure on Indonesia to overturn the controversial sentence.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, was jailed for two years earlier this month for insulting the Koran, a shock decision that has undermined a reputation for religious tolerance in the world’s most populous Muslim- majority country.

 Lawyers for Purnama, who is currently in detention, filed the appeal to the High Court in Jakarta. They believe the judges’ decision did not properly take into account testimony from defence witnesses.They also urged the court to release him, Jakarta’s first non-Muslim governor for half a century and its first ethnic Chinese leader, on bail while his appeal is ongoing.(AFP)