Ratu Thalisa
By Akeem Atoyebi
An Indonesian TikToker has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for blasphemy after making an unsavoury comment about Jesus Christ during a livestream.
Several images of the Christian messiah have always shown him with long hair.
Ms Ratu Thalisa allegedly spoke to the image of Jesus on her phone, telling him to get a haircut while on livestream after a comment that she should cut her hair to look more like a man.
A court on Monday in Medan, Sumatra, according to the BBC, found Ms Thalisa guilty of spreading hatred under an online hate speech law, and was subsequently sentenced to two years and 10 months in jail.
The court noted that Ms Thalisa could “disrupt public order” and religious harmony by her post, charging her with committing blasphemy.
The court ruling came after several Christian groups in the country filed police complaints against the TikToker for blasphemy.
Ms Thalisa was given seven days to appeal.
Meanwhile, human rights organisation Amnesty International Indonesia has condemned the sentencing of Ms Thalisa, describing it as a “shocking attack on her freedom of expression”.
The organisation also called for the revocation of the sentence.
In a statement, its executive director, Usman Hamid, said, “The Indonesian authorities should not use the country’s Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT) law to punish people for comments made on social media.
“While Indonesia should prohibit the advocacy of religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, Ratu Thalisa’s speech act does not reach that threshold.”
He called for the Indonesian authorities to overturn Ms Thalisa’s conviction and ensure her immediate release from custody.
Mr Hamid also urged the Indonesian government to revise the EIT that criminalises alleged immorality and, defamation and hate speech.
