By ICC’s Indonesia Correspondent
12/29/2021 Indonesia (International Christian Concern) – As the proverb goes, “Rub salt into the wound.” Such was the fate of Muhammad Kace, an Indonesian Christian apologist with Muslim background known for his Youtube videos. By responding and offering rebuttal to attacks from Muslim preachers who have very clearly insulted Christianity in their lectures on Youtube, he got himself in trouble.
On August 25, 2021, Muhammad Kace was arrested on charges of insulting Islam. During his detention, Muhammad Kace was treated in an inhumane way— he was tortured by a police official named Napoleon Bonaparte who was detained in the same prison due to a corruption case. Bonaparte forced Kace to eat the excrement of himself. The police official even proudly stated that what he was doing was serving Islam, the Prophet and its Allah which Muhammad Kace had insulted.
As if the authorities are trying to be fair, not long after the arrest of Muhammad Kace, a Muslim preacher with Christian background, Ustad Yahya Waloni, was also arrested for blasphemy. However, long before Muhammad Kace’s controversial Youtube videos appeared, Ustad Yahya Waloni had already delivered his lectures that insulted his former religion. Many have reported to the police but none of the reports have been taken seriously by the police. Waloni was only arrested after Kace’s detention.
The treatment of the two is also different even in detention. When Waloni was sick in prison, he was treated by a doctor, while Kace was severely tortured, he was not treated properly. Requests to bring him medicine was turned down by the police, nor were lawyers allowed to meet with Kace. This was revealed by Abraham Ben Moses, the coordinator of Kace’s lawyers.
The location of the Kace trial also seems very discriminatory. Kace was arrested in Bali, later transferred to Jakarta, and tried at the Ciamis District Court, West Java. Waloni, on the other hand, was arrested and tried in Jakarta. Kace’s court is always visited by demonstrators to put pressure on the trial. It is hard not to suspect the motive behind moving Kace.
Abraham ben Moses said, “It is very sad to see how the law is enforced in Indonesia, especially when it relates to those who are minorities.” He continued on his YouTube channel, “The moral revolution is screaming loudly in this nation. In fact, this nation has no morals in upholding truth and justice, even the center of justice itself cannot find justice. Mohammad Kace is not considered a human in their eyes.”
The trial process for Mohammad Kace is ongoing. We hope that there will be justice for him. The principle of equality before the law is found in almost all the constitutions in the world, even for Indonesia, it is written in the 1945 Constitution of The Republic of Indonesia article 27 section 1, where it clearly states that, “All citizens have the same position under the law.” This ought to be applied to Muhammad Kace too, though we can only hope.
For interviews, please contact Addison Parker: press@persecution.org
