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Jakarta: An Indonesian court on Thursday sentenced a firebrand Islamic cleric and five of his followers to eight months in prison for flouting COVID-19 restrictions by organizing a wedding for his daughter last year.
Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, founder of the now-disbanded vigilante group Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI), and the other five were found guilty of violating the country’s health quarantine laws, judges at the East Jakarta district court ruled. Shihab was also ordered to pay a fine for a separate gathering that attracted thousands of people outside Jakarta in November.
Shihab returned home in November after spending three years in Saudi Arabia to evade police questioning on charges he exchanged lewd online messages with a female supporter. In 2018, police dropped the charges, which Shihab said were trumped up because of his political activity and criticism of the government.
He staged several gatherings attended by thousands of his supporters in the week after his return from Saudi Arabia, including a wedding party for his daughter at his Jakarta house. In December, police clashed with Shihab’s supporters on a highway as officers were tailing his entourage in West Java province in an attempt to arrest him, killing six of his followers. (dpa)
Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, founder of the now-disbanded vigilante group Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI), and the other five were found guilty of violating the country’s health quarantine laws, judges at the East Jakarta district court ruled. Shihab was also ordered to pay a fine for a separate gathering that attracted thousands of people outside Jakarta in November.
Shihab returned home in November after spending three years in Saudi Arabia to evade police questioning on charges he exchanged lewd online messages with a female supporter. In 2018, police dropped the charges, which Shihab said were trumped up because of his political activity and criticism of the government.
He staged several gatherings attended by thousands of his supporters in the week after his return from Saudi Arabia, including a wedding party for his daughter at his Jakarta house. In December, police clashed with Shihab’s supporters on a highway as officers were tailing his entourage in West Java province in an attempt to arrest him, killing six of his followers. (dpa)
