FILE PHOTO: Jakarta's Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, speaks to his lawyers after the guilty verdict in his blasphemy trial in Jakarta May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Bay Ismoyo/Pool/File Photo
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Jakarta's former governor, a Christian, will withdraw an appeal against his controversial jailing for insulting Islam in Muslim-majority Indonesia, to allow prosecutors to appeal the sentence and calm protests, his family and lawyers said on Tuesday.
Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese popularly known as "Ahok", was jailed on May 9 for a longer-than-expected term in a ruling that critics fear will embolden hardline Islamist forces to challenge secularism in Indonesia.
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