Indonesian cleric jailed 4 years for concealing COVID test results

dpa Jakarta An Indonesian court on Thursday sentenced a firebrand Islamic cleric to four years in prison for concealing his Covid-19 test results and den...

dpa Jakarta An Indonesian court on Thursday sentenced a firebrand Islamic cleric to four years in prison for concealing his Covid-19 test results and denying a government request for access to the information.  It was the second jail sentence in as many months for Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, who is an opposition figure and has been vocal in his criticism of the government of President Joko Widodo. Last month, Shihab and five of his followers were sentenced to eight months in prison for flouting coronavirus restrictions by organizing a wedding for his daughter last year.  In Thursday’s verdict, judges at the East Jakarta District Court found Shihab guilty of spreading false news by denying that he had Covid-19 in September last year.His action “caused public disturbances,” chief judge Khadwanto said.The judge said Shihab rejected a request by the government’s Covid-19 task force to have access to the result of his Covid-19 test, which was taken at a hospital near Jakarta.Indonesia has the largest Covid-19 caseload in South-East Asia, with more than 2 million confirmed cases and 55,000 deaths.Cases have spiked in recent weeks amid the emergence of the virulent Delta variant, with hospitals struggling to cope with new patients.  “I reject the decision and I will appeal,” Shihab said after the verdict was read out.The director of the hospital where Shihab was treated, Andi Tatat, and Shihab’s son-in-law Muhammad Hanif Alatas, were each sentenced to one year in prison for their role in the alleged cover-up.    Shihab is the founder of the Islamic Defenders’ Front, a vigilante group known for its anti-vice campaign.  After Shihab was arrested in December, the government announced that the group was an outlawed organization, saying its activities disturbed public order and some its followers were involved in terrorism.Shihab returned home in November after spending three years in Saudi Arabia to evade police questioning on charges he exchanged lewd online messages with a female supporter.  In 2018, police dropped the charges, which Shihab said were trumped up because of his political activity and criticism of the government.  In early December, police clashed with Shihab’s supporters on a highway as officers were tailing his entourage in West Java province in an attempt to arrest him, killing six of his followers.