Transgender influencer Should Hold Jesus Photo And Cut His Hair...Blasphemy?
Mar 12, 2025
|
Latutala, an Indonesian transgender woman with more than 440,000 followers on TikTok, did what she called 'disgraceful' during a live broadcast, according to the British media Daily Mail.
A Muslim woman, she holds up a picture of Jesus Christ on her phone and says "You must not look like a woman. You have to cut your hair like the father of one viewer."
Five Christian groups later accused her of blasphemy.
At a trial held in Medan District Court in North Sumatra, Indonesia on the 10th (local time), prosecutors demanded a sentence of more than four years, saying it violated the online hate speech ban. The court sentenced her to two years and 10 months in prison and fined her 100 million rupiah (about 9 million won).
The court noted that her remarks could interfere with 'public order' and 'religious harmony' in Muslim-majority countries.
Human rights groups immediately protested the ruling.
They criticized the law's widespread application, saying it was a 'shocking attack on freedom of expression.
Amnesty International's Indonesian secretary general, Usman Hamid, called on the Indonesian government to repeal or amend the `problematic provisions' of the Electronic Information Transactions Act (EIT), calling for the `immediate and unconditional release' of Talisa.
He insisted "It should be prohibited from advocating religious hatred that incites discrimination, hostility or violence, but her remarks do not fall under this category."
Latutali is said to be appealing.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
