Indonesia police say Islamist leader who led protests against Jakarta’s jailed Christian governor swapped nude photos with woman
Habib Rizieq, who has spent years preaching conservative Islamic values, is accused of violating Indonesia’s strict anti-pornography laws
Indonesian police yesterday named an Islamist leader as a suspect in the exchange of pornographic messages and photos, a new legal threat to a cleric who helped organise mass Muslim rallies against Jakarta’s former Christian governor.
Habib Rizieq, a firebrand cleric who heads the hardline Islamic Defenders Forum (FPI), has also been made a suspect in a separate investigation over allegations he insulted the secular state ideology in the Muslim-majority nation.
President Joko Widodo appears to be taking a tougher stance against fundamentalism and has said he would not tolerate any individuals or organisations that undermine the secular state ideology “Pancasila”, or threaten Indonesia’s tradition of pluralism.
The government recently moved to disband Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist group that calls for a state based on sharia and also backed the protests against Purnama, an ally of Widodo.
Rizieq, who has spent years preaching conservative Islamic values, is accused of violating Indonesia’s strict anti-pornography laws by exchanging graphic messages and nude pictures with a woman.
Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono confirmed Rizieq had been made a suspect, meaning the case is likely to go to court.
“The main crime is participating in and transmitting pornographic content,” Yuwono said.
Rizieq’s lawyer, Sugitmo Atmo Pawiro, denied the allegations, saying they had been fabricated by supporters of Purnama.
Rizieq is currently overseas after flying to Malaysia and then to Saudi Arabia. He has not returned to Indonesia despite repeated summons for questioning by police. His lawyer denied that the cleric had fled Indonesia because of his legal troubles.
An FPI spokesman said the legal complaints against Rizieq were “unfounded”.
“This has all been engineered to criminalise the clerics,” said Novel Bamukmin, head of the FPI’s Jakarta chapter.
“The police need to investigate who really produced and distributed that transcript,” he said.
Rizieq served prison terms in 2003 and 2008 for violence and disrupting public order.
