JAKARTA, April 6 (Reuters) – An Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced a senior member of an outlawed hardline Islamist group to three years in prison for “consciously aiding terrorism actors”. The case against Munarman, a former secretary-general and spokesperson of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), follows the jailing last year of FPI leader, Rizieq Shihab, for spreading false information about COVID-19.Followers of the controversial organisation have said the cases are politically motivated. The FPI was outlawed by President Joko Widodo’s government in 2020, clipping its wings as it was gaining political influence in the Muslim-majority country. “(We) hereby declare the defendant has been proven…by law guilty of committing acts of terrorism,” the judge presiding over the Jakarta court said in a hearing that was streamed by news channel Kompas TV. Munarman was found to have abetted “terrorism actors” by “concealing information on terrorism acts”, another judge added. Over the years,… read more
