REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- As a convicted in blasphemy case, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama "Ahok" should not be jailed in house of detention. The convicted should be fostered in Correctional Institution.

"An inmate or convicted person has to be kept in prison, not in detention facility," criminal law observer Kaspudin Noor said to reporters on Wednesday (March 28).

According to Kaspudin, if a prisoner did not detained at Correctional Institution until the end of punishment term, it could not be said that he/she have been serving the prison term. A convicted should be detained in prison for a cause.

"In Correctional Institution, the convicted will be fostered so later he/she could be accepted by the society," the former commissioner of Prosecutor's Commission said.

Convicted in blasphemy case Basuki Tjahaja Purnama "Ahok" comes out from detention car at Cipinang Correctional Institution, Jakarta, Tuesday (May 9, 2017).

On the other hand, house of detention was merely a facility to detain suspects or defendants before the decision of the court has permanent legal force. As for Ahok, Kaspudin said the legal decision has been permanent and his status is inmate and his judicial review also has been rejected.

"Ahok should be detained in Correctional Institution, not in detention center. Is Mobile Brigade Command headquarters (Mako Brimob) a Correctional Institution? Please check," he said.

Also read: Keeping Ahok in Brimob prison is serious violation to law: IPW

Kaspudin said equality before the law should be applied, including against the former Jakarta governor. Ahok's status as a priority inmate was not an excuse. "The principle of equality before the law should not be violated," he remarked.

Ahok has been jailed at Mako Brimob in Depok since May 2017. He was transferred from Cipinang Correctional Institution on May 10 at around 01:00 am as his supporters were considered too noisy when trying to free him. There was also a concern of his safety, Ahok's lawyer I Wayan Sudirta said.

Ahok was sentenced for his blasphemous statement regarding al Maidah 51 Quranic verse. On Monday (March 26), Supreme Court decided to reject the case review petition to challenge the North Jakarta District Courts ruling that sentenced Ahok to two years imprisonment over blasphemy. 

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