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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| American jailed for blasphemy |
| 2010-12-16 |
| [Straits Times] AN INDONESIAN court on Wednesday sentenced a US retiree to five months in jail for blasphemy for pulling the plug on a mosque's loudspeaker during a prayer reading. The August 22 incident during the Mohammedan holy month of Ramadan resulted in retired Caliphornian engineer Gregory Luke, 64, needing a police escort from his home on Lombok island as a mob tore it to pieces around him. 'He was found guilty of committing blasphemy, carrying out an act of violence and hampering people in Kute village from doing their religious activities,' chief judge Suhartoyo told a court in Praya, Lombok. Luke had previously denied pulling the plug, but in a brief comment on Wednesday said he was 'satisfied' with the judges' ruling. The verdict was two months lighter than the jail term sought by prosecutors a day earlier. The Indonesian criminal code stipulates that an act of blasphemy carries a maximum five-year jail term. Setting out mitigating circumstances, the judge said: 'The defendant has never committed a crime before, acted politely during the trial and expressed regret for his act. He also participated in promoting tourism here.' Luke, who runs a guesthouse for tourists on the islands, will get his freedom back in mid-February 2011. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 "He also participated in promoting tourism here." Umm wasn't that the whole point? |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2010-12-16 22:21 |
| #5 In a sane world, the State Department would mention this incident every time an Indonesian official criticised presumed US policy towards Muslims (or supposed American attitudes towards same). *plays Imagine on an accordion with tear rolling down cheek* |
| Posted by: ryuge 2010-12-16 17:18 |
| #4 If he shot it out chances are they never would've bothered him. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-12-16 17:09 |
| #3 Wonder what he'd have gotten shooting the Crier/caller, 6 months? |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-12-16 11:58 |
| #2 Americans are all over, global citizen. |
| Posted by: Jeremiah Flainter9609 2010-12-16 03:36 |
| #1 Retiring to any place where you're assaulted by loudspeakers five times a day, every day of the week, seems like a rather poor choice... |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2010-12-16 01:32 |