Ahok released after two years in jail for blasphemy

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who has asked to be referred to as “BTP” upon his release, is a free man once again after serving nearly two years in prison for blasphemy.

Ahok, who was released from the National Police’s Mobile Brigade (Mako Brimob) headquarters in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java, on Thursday (Jan 24), left the building in the morning and headed home, according to his team.

“Bapak BTP left Mako Brimob at around 7:30am. He was picked up by his oldest son, Nicholas Sean and members of the BTP team. He headed home immediately,” a BTP team representative, Ima Mahdiah, said on Thursday.

Ahok and his team are believed to have left the compound through the back.

A crowd of supporters had gathered at the front gate in the morning to welcome the former Jakarta governor.

Ahok was sentenced for blasphemy following a speech he made in the Thousand Islands regency in September 2016 that referred to Al-Maidah verse 51 in the Quran.

Ahok said the verse – believed to ban Muslims from choosing a non-Muslim leader – had been used by politicians to manipulate people into voting against him.

The case played a major role in Ahok's defeat in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election. – The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network