Indramayu District Court Sentence Panji Gumilang A Year In Prison In Blasphemy Case

The defendant in the Panji Gumilang religious blasphemy case (medium yellow shirt) was about to leave the courtroom at the Indramayu District Court, West Java, Wednesday (20/3/2024). (ANTARA/Fathnur Rohman)

The panel of judges at the Indramayu District Court (PN), West Java, sentenced the leader of the Al-Zaytun Islamic Boarding School, Panji Gumilang, as a defendant in a criminal case of blasphemy. Chairman of the Panel of Judges at the Indramayu District Court, Yogi Dulhadi, stated that the defendant was legally and convincingly proven guilty of deliberately committing an act that was basically blasphemy against a religion. He said that Panji Gumilang's actions had violated the provisions stipulated in Article 156 a letter a of the Criminal Code, so that the defendant was sentenced to one year in prison. "The defendant is guilty of committing a criminal act which is basically blasphemy against a religion held in Indonesia. Because the defendant was sentenced to one year in prison, ” he said in a trial in Indramayu, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, March 20. During the trial, the Panel of Judges also determined that the detention period that had been served by Panji Gumilang would be completely reduced from the sentence imposed. Even so, his party asked that the defendant be detained in accordance with applicable legal provisions. "We have determined that the detention period that the defendant has served is deducted entirely from the sentence imposed and determined that the defendant remains detained," he said. In addition, he said, the evidence in the case was in the form of a Compact Disc-Recordable (CD-R) piece containing video footage and other documents requested to be destroyed. "Furthermore, the evidence of a YouTube account in the name of the Al-Zaytun Official until other goods are confiscated for the state," said Yogi. The Panel of Judges added that after being sentenced, the defendant had to pay the court fee charged of Rp. 5,000.

Meanwhile, after the trial, the defendant Panji Gumilang was reluctant to comment further regarding the verdict handed down by the Indramayu District Court Judge to him. “ You've heard everything, just think about it first, ” he said.