Indonesia's Constitutional Court Hearing Challenge To Blasphemy Law

Indonesia's Constitutional Court on Wednesday held its first hearings in a challenge to the constitutionality of Indonesia's Law on Prevention of Blasphemy and Abuse of Religion. Yesterday's Jakarta Post reports that the lawsuit was filed last year by the late President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid and several human rights organizations. The suit alleges that the law is unconstitutional because it recognizes only six religions: Islam, Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. It also bans people from publicly espousing or gathering popular support in favor of certain religious interpretations. Some 31 experts have been invited to testify in the trial.