MUI tells Rizieq to face legal process

JAKARTA. Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Ma’ruf Amin has urged Indonesia Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab to come home to Indonesia and face the legal case being brought against him.

Rizieq, who was named a suspect in a pornography case in May, is believed to be in Saudi Arabia and has been put on the police wanted list.

“The legal proceedings are ongoing and [Rizieq] should undergo the process. Hopefully, it can be settled well,” Ma’ruf said at his home in Koja, North Jakarta, as quoted by kompas.com on Monday. He made the comment following a visit from the Jakarta Police chief earlier in the morning.

Rizieq was allegedly involved in a steamy WhatsApp chat with a woman named Firza Husein, who is also a suspect in the case. Rizieq failed to obey two police summons prior to his naming as a suspect.

He has been charged under the 2008 Pornography Law, which carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison upon conviction.

Apart from the pornography case, Rizieq, who led two large rallies to demand the detainment of then Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama on blasphemy charges, has also been implicated in other cases, such as for defaming the state ideology of Pancasila.