Indonesia reduces sentences of over 9,000 Christian inmates on Christmas

The Indonesian government handed out sentence reductions to more than 9,000 Christian inmates on Christmas Day, including the jailed Christian governor who was convicted of blasphemy earlier this year.

The Jakarta Post reported on Tuesday that a total of 9,333 inmates were deemed eligible for remissions this year based on administrative and substantive considerations as well as the type of crime.

"If an embezzler wants a remission, for instance, they must first obtain justice collaborator status," Law and Human Rights Ministry official Ma'mun said, noting that 175 inmates were released upon receiving their remissions.

The length of sentence reductions varied from a minimum of 15 days to a maximum of two months, depending on the length of sentence the inmates had already served. Sentences of inmates who have already served one to three years may be reduced by a month, while those who served at least six years may receive a reduction of two months.

Out of 227,446 inmates in Indonesia, 15,478 were Christian, according to the statistics from Law and Human Rights Ministry as of Dec. 18.

The ministry announced that 61 inmates received a 15-day remission, 102 received a one-month remission and 12 received a 45-day remission.

Meanwhile, former Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, who was sentenced to two years in prison earlier this year after being convicted of blasphemy, received 15 days of remission.

"Pak Ahok has been granted 15 days of remission," Purnama's lawyer, Teguh Samudra said. Purnama's other lawyer, I Wayan Sudirta, noted that the former governor would receive remission because he had been imprisoned for more than six months.

The case against Purnama stemmed from a video that showed the Christian governor speaking to residents at the Thousand Islands Regency last September. The subtitles to the video were reportedly edited to make it seem that Purnama had spoken ill of the Quran although he had only issued a warning against politicians who use the Islamic book for political gain.

After the release of the video on social media, tens of thousands of Muslims protested and demanded that Purnama be punished.

Buni Yani, who posted the video on Facebook, had admitted that he had edited the video, and was convicted in court of violating Article 32 of the 2011 Information and Electronic Transactions Law.

Indonesia, which is home to the world's largest Muslim population, has been ranked by Open Doors USA in the 2017 World Watch List as the 46th worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution.