Indonesia: Woman TikToker gets two years in jail for eating pork after reciting Islamic prayer on camera

A TikTok user in Indonesia has been sentenced to two years in prison for posting a video in which she recited an Islamic prayer before eating pork. This act, which was widely condemned in the predominantly Muslim country, led to her conviction. In the video, Lina Mukherjee can be seen cringing as she says a Muslim prayer that means ‘in the name of God’ before consuming crispy pork skin. A local resident reported the 33-year-old influencer for the video, which gained millions of views on TikTok. She was found guilty of ‘spreading information intended to incite hatred against religious individuals and specific groups’ in a court in Palembang. Mukherjee, who identifies as a Muslim, was also fined heavily, ordered to pay 250 million rupiah (£13,000) for her actions. In Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country globally, pork is considered ‘haram,’ or forbidden, under Islamic law. After the trial, Lina expressed surprise at the verdict, stating, “I know I made a mistake, but I did not expect such a severe punishment,” during an interview with the local news station MetroTV. The video had sparked significant backlash from conservative groups in Indonesia. The Indonesian Ulema Council, the country’s top Islamic clerical body, deemed the video blasphemous. Lina Mukherjee, a popular content creator, boasts two TikTok accounts, with her largest account amassing over 2.2 million followers. Her case is the latest in a series of high-profile blasphemy convictions in recent years. In the previous year, six individuals were arrested after a bar chain promoted free alcohol for patrons named Mohammed. In 2017, the former Christian governor of Jakarta was imprisoned on charges of insulting Islam, widely seen as politically motivated. Human rights activists have strongly criticized Indonesia’s strict blasphemy laws, arguing that they disproportionately target minority groups. Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, has condemned the misuse of the blasphemy article in Indonesian law, asserting that it violates the country’s international obligations concerning freedom of thought, conscience, religion, expression, and opinion.