JAKARTA, Indonesia — A rights group says the Indonesian woman imprisoned for blasphemy after complaining about noise from a mosque is sharing a cramped cell with 16 other women and given “terrible” food.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A rights group says the Indonesian woman imprisoned for blasphemy after complaining about noise from a mosque is sharing a cramped cell with 16 other women and given “terrible” food.
Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono said Thursday the ethnic Chinese woman, Meliana, was emotional but tough when he and other supporters visited her in prison in Medan this week.
The case has highlighted how Indonesia’s blasphemy law has become a tool for Islamic hardliners to persecute followers of minority religions.
She was sentenced to 18 months in prison last month.
Her ordeal began in July 2016 when rumors spread in her hometown Tanjung Balai that she wanted to stop the call to prayer. Mobs attacked her home and burned at least 14 Buddhist temples.
