9/12/2024 Indonesia (International Christian Concern) — After more than a year behind bars, Christian apologist Gratia Pello has been released from prison in Indonesia.
Pello was arrested and charged with blasphemy on Dec. 6, 2022, for allegedly insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in a video he posted that refuted insults against Jesus. Following his arrest, Pello’s condition remained unknown for several months. An International Christian Concern (ICC) staffer who spoke with Pello confirmed his release.
Before his arrest, four officers questioned Pello in his home about the content of episode 248 of his YouTube channel, which police said offended Muslims and Islam. After the officers left his home, Pello also left. When he returned home at 11 p.m., Pello discovered that nearly 30 officers had broken into his home and ransacked his house. An officer then arrested him.
Pello was tried on April 17, 2023, in the Malang district court, and a judge sentenced him to two years and six months in prison.
Pello, a Coptic Orthodox Christian, was a professor at a small Christian theological school in East Java and regularly published videos and blog posts that compared Christianity to Islam. Pello was known for his debates regarding the two religions, and his content reached many people online.
While Indonesia’s constitution and multiple Indonesian officials emphasize the importance of religious freedom, Christians and other religious minorities in the Muslim-majority country often face persecution.
To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org.
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