Teguh Santosa, online editor of Rakyat Merdeka, is charged with inciting hatred towards a religious group, BBC World reports. Mr. Santosa posted the cartoons back in February at the height of the international controversy which erupted when the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten chose to publish 12 drawings of the so-called prophet Mohammed. The images, including one which showed Mohammed with a bomb in his turban, sparked anger across the Islamic world.
Islamic tradition explicitly prohibits any depiction of Allah and Mohammed. Denmark was forced to temporarily close its embassy in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, as days of protests peaked.
Mr. Santosa claims he published the images to give readers the full story on the cartoon issue.
“We just wanted to let people know about the cartoons, which were being strongly protested at that time,” he reportedly told the Associated Press news agency.
Mr. Santos, who was formally arrested and charged on Thursday, faces up to five years imprisonment if found guilty, his lawyer said.
