Basuki Tjahaja Purnama: I Was Treated Like A Political Prisoner
CONVICTED of religious blasphemy, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, former Jakarta governor, spent 625 days in the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) detention center. On May 9, 2017, after the North Jakarta district court sentenced him to two years in prison, Ahok—as Basuki is familiarly called—was immediately taken to the Cipinang Prison in East Jakarta. The following day, for security reasons, he was moved to the Brimob headquarters in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java.
Tempo
February 18, 2020
Unlike other prisoners, Ahok’s movements were very much restricted. He, for example, was not allowed to do activities in the prison yard lest guests visiting other inmates will see him or take pictures of him. “All kinds of rumors might arise,” he said during the special interview with Tempo.
The life in prison was a misery to Ahok, 53. He became so stressed that he fell ill. At the same time, he was pressured into forfeiting
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