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Indonesia ‘internet atheist’ given jail term
An Indonesian man has been sentenced to two and a half years in jail and fined $10,598 for professing his atheism on the internet, Al Jazeera has reported.
Alexander Aan, a West Sumatran civil servant, was sentenced in court on Thursday with blasphemy and violating internet laws.
Aan was arrested earlier this year for posting “There is no God” on the social networking website Facebook.
Perhaps he should have pleaded that FB cut off the last part of his remark, which read, “…but God.”
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I read about that and was wondering how I could send an effective message to the Indonesian govt that I’ve always wanted to visit the country, but will spend my tourist money elsewhere if this BS goes on.
There’s a nice “contact us” feature on http://www.indonesia.travel/, which is a site owned by the Ministry Of Tourism and Creative Economy.
Maybe I should contact BZ and ask what countries are not safe to travel to if you’re an atheist.
As we say in Canada, “Foreigners with money? No problem!” (Atheists are provably smarter and more affluent as a group.)
I’d say go to Indonesia and find out for yourself. You’ll be helping the fantastic and friendly local working people in the tourism business; the government and the loony fringes only benefit from poverty and ignorance. (here is a limit to this. Personally, I wouldn’t go to Soddy Arabia.)
It’s important that the peasants think there’s a better life waiting for them in the afterlife; otherwise, they might start demanding a better life now.
@Sue W: Sodding is illegal in Saudi Arabia, but would be a fabulous tourism rebranding opportunity should they suddenly run out of oil and have to build a real economy.