In May, Jakarta’s Christian ex-governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (known as Ahok), withdrew his appeal against his two-year prison sentence for blasphemy in a controversial case that has challenged religious pluralism in Indonesia, with repeated clashes between Ahok’s supporters and radical Islamic groups.
It was for this reason, said Ahok, that he wished to drop his appeal ‘for the sake of our people and nation’.
‘I know this is not easy for you to accept this reality, let alone me, but I have learned to forgive and accept all this,’ he wrote in a letter that his wife Veronica Tan read out at a news conference. He thanked his supporters and those who were praying for him, or sending him flowers, letters and books.
