JAKARTA: Jakarta’s Chris­tian governor was jailed for two years on Tuesday after being found guilty of blasphemy, in a shock decision that has stoked concerns over rising religious intolerance in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Many people waiting outside the Jakarta court shouted “God is greatest” as news came through that Basuki Tjahaja Purnama would be sent to prison for insulting Islam, a surprisingly harsh verdict after prosecutors had only recommended probation.

Purnama, Jakarta’s first non-Muslim governor for half a century and its first ethnic Chinese leader, looked calm when the verdict was announced and said he would appeal, as some of his supporters in court burst into tears.

He was immediately transferred to jail and authorities said his deputy would take over running Jakarta for the final few months of his term. Hundreds of his supporters descended on the prison shouting “Free Ahok” — Purnama’s nickname — and violently shook the gate of the facility.

The 50-year-old was hauled into court last year to face trial on charges of insulting the holy Quran while campaigning for re-election, after the blasphemy accusations sparked a series of mass protests in Jakarta spearheaded by radical groups and encouraged by his rivals.

Tuesday’s jail sentence and his loss last month to a Muslim challenger in the Jakarta vote, which he had once been favourite to win, has fuelled fears that hardliners are growing increasingly influential and that the country’s version of Islam that has been praised widely is under threat.

“It’s another big step in the slow decline of religious freedom in Indonesia,” said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher for Human Rights Watch, after Purnama was jailed.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern and urged Indonesia to review its blasphemy laws, while the European Union called on Jakarta to uphold its “long-standing tradition of tolerance and pluralism”.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2017