Sumatra man, Alexander Aan lands in jail for expressing his atheism
30-year-old Alexander Aan of Sumatra will be spending the next two-and-a-half years in prison for a Facebook post, some cartoons and free expression of his non-belief in a higher power.
Photo/CIA
According to a Voices of America report, Aan faced charges of blasphemy, inciting hatred and encouraging atheism.
What did he do?
What initially stirred the hornet’s nest was a posting he put on his Facebook wall–“God does not exist”.
Then he several explicit cartoons of the prophet Muhammad online, one depicting the prophet having sex with his servant, another that showed him finding his daughter-in-law sexually alluring.
Not only did these acts earn Aan an arrest and conviction, but he was also beaten by an angry mob for his thoughts.
The VOA reports while the charges of blasphemy and promoting atheism were dismissed, Aan was found guilty of spreading religious hatred under the controversial 2008 electronic transactions law.
Human rights activists say the ruling is symbolic of deepening religious intolerance in Indonesia as Islamic hardliners get more traction in the southeast Asian country.
