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Jakarta governor given 2-year prison sentence for blasphemy

Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, center, enters the court room as he attends his sentencing hearing in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 9, 2017. The minority Christian governor is currently on trial on accusation of blasphemy following his remark about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. (Bay Ismoyo/Pool Photo via AP)
Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, center, enters the court room as he attends his sentencing hearing in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 9, 2017. The minority Christian governor is currently on trial on accusation of blasphemy following his remark about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. (Bay Ismoyo/Pool Photo via AP) Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, center, enters the court room as he attends his sentencing hearing in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 9, 2017. The minority Christian governor is currently on trial on accusation of blasphemy following his remark about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders. (Bay Ismoyo/Pool Photo via AP)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – An Indonesian court has sentenced the minority Christian governor of Jakarta to two years in prison for blaspheming the Quran following a trial that undermined the country’s reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.

The five-judge panel ordered Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s immediate arrest Tuesday.

The lead judge said the trial was a purely criminal one and the court disagreed that there were political aspects to the case.

The maximum sentence for blasphemy in Muslim-majority Indonesia is five years in prison.