An Indonesian social media influencer who suggested that Jesus should cut his hair has been sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison after being found guilty of spreading hate speech against Christianity.
Ratu Thalisa, a transgender Muslim who has about 450,000 followers on TikTok, was convicted by a court in North Sumatra province for comments made about an image of Christ, according to a statement from rights group Amnesty International and local media reports.
Thalisa, who is known online as Ratu Entok, made the comments after a viewer said she should cut her hair to look like a man.
In a live broadcast on October 2, 2024, Thalisa held up a picture of Jesus Christ and said, “You shouldn’t look like a woman. You should cut your hair to look like his father.”
Five Christian groups filed complaints with Indonesian police alleging blasphemy, leading to Thalisa's arrest on October 8.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered Thalisa to pay a fine of approximately $6,200.
She was convicted under Indonesia's Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT) law after the court ruled that her comments could affect "public order" and "religious harmony."
Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid said on Monday that "the sentence is a shocking attack on Ratu Thalisa's freedom of expression" and that the EIT law should not be used to punish people for comments on social media.