A female influencer in Indonesia has been sentenced to jail for making a viral TikTok video eating crispy pork skin.
While non-Muslim people are allowed to eat pork in Indonesia, the woman in question, Lina Lutfiawati is a Muslim who even recited the prayer “Bismillah” before eating the dish that she knew is deemed haram in Islam. The video quickly garnered millions of views, sparking both fascination and outrage among viewers.
Following public outcry, the court has sentenced the 33-year-old woman, who also goes by the name Lina Mukherjee, to two years in prison for blasphemy.
On Tuesday, the court in the Indonesian city of Palembang, located on the southern part of Sumatra island, found Lutfiawati guilty of deliberately “spreading information that was intended to incite hate or individual/group enmity based on religion.” In addition to the two-year prison sentence, she was ordered to pay a fine of 250 million rupiah ($16,249.59).
The court’s decision rested on the assertion that Lutfiawati, despite her actions, identified as a Muslim, and her video was seen as a violation of Indonesia’s blasphemy laws. The verdict has been applauded by the local media as well as Muslims around the world.
Following the verdict, Lutfiawati issued a public apology and expressed her astonishment at the severity of the punishment. “I know that I am wrong, but I did not expect this punishment,” she stated in a local news interview.
