religion
Indonesian woman eats pork on Tiktok: prison sentence
Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. Because an Indonesian lifestyle influencer ate pork in a Tiktok video, she was sentenced to prison and a fine of around 15,200 euros. photo
© Tatan Syuflana/AP
An Indonesian Tiktok influencer speaks a formula from the Koran, then eats a piece of crispy pork skin – and is sentenced to two years in prison. The country has strict blasphemy laws.
In Indonesia, a well-known influencer was sentenced to two years in prison for reciting an Islamic prayer formula and then eating pork. The consumption of pork is strictly forbidden in Islam – for their However, a woman known for Tiktok videos filmed herself and posted the clip online.
The lifestyle influencer with the stage name Lina Mukherjee, who has more than two million followers on Tiktok, was sentenced to prison for “incitement to hatred” and also a fine of the equivalent of around 15,200 euros, the newspaper “Tribun Jambi” reported. citing the responsible court in Palembang on the island of Sumatra.
Video clicked millions of times reported to the police
The woman said she had a week to file an appeal, but would probably forego it, according to the paper. The sentence could possibly even be increased. The 33-year-old describes herself as a Muslim. She says she goes by her Indian-sounding stage name Lina Mukherjee because of her great love for Bollywood films.
In the video, recorded in March, she uses the Arabic phrase “Bismillah” (In the name of God), which appears at the beginning of almost every surah in the Koran. Then she eats a piece of crispy pork skin – out of pure curiosity, according to her own statements. The video was viewed millions of times – and also heavily criticized. She was eventually reported to the police and arrested in July.
Human rights activists condemn legislation
The recordings were reportedly made in Bali, the only Hindu island in Indonesia. The Southeast Asian island nation is the most populous Islamic country in the world. After the verdict, Mukherjee apologized to the Indonesian people, according to the broadcaster KompasTV, “because as a public figure I made mistakes that are not exemplary.”
Indonesia has strict blasphemy laws that are internationally controversial. Human rights activists criticized the verdict. “What happened to Lina is not surprising, despite the government’s promises to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right to freedom of expression,” said Usman Hamid of Amnesty International Indonesia. The blasphemy laws have long been misused to repress minorities and dissidents.