God Does Not Exist

27 June 2012

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On 14 June 2012 Indonesian atheist Alexander Aan was sentenced to two years and six months in jail and fined Rp100 million (c. US$10,600).

Why?  Alex was attacked and arrested after posting 'God does not exist' and cartoons and articles about Islam on Facebook.  He was convicted of 'causing hatred and enmity against individuals and groups based on tribal affiliations, religion, race and societal groups' based on his Facebook posts. 

Alex' sentence is contrary to basic human rights principles and Indonesia's international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), particularly Article 18, which protects an individual’s right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and Article 19, which guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression.    

What should we do?  We need to draw attention to Alex's situation and pressure the Indonesian government to release Alex and modernise Indonesia's laws. We need to exercise our freedom of expression to support Alex, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to oppose attempts to suppress criticism and questioning of religion.  We need you to tell the world that you support Alex.

Please support Alex by:

• sharing this page and posting "God Does Not Exist" on your Facebook wall
• tweeting a message of support with hashtag #goddoesnotexist
• sending a message of support to Alex - email info [at] atheistalliance [dot] org with "Message for Alex" in the subject line
• writing to the Indonesian authorities to condemn Alex's jail sentence and calling for a repeal of Indonesia's blasphemy laws so this does not happen to anyone else

Also, please consider donating to Atheist Alliance International's Legal/Support fund for Alex Aan.

References:
Atheist Alliance International condemns jail sentence for Alexander Aan
Indonesian Muslims call for atheist beheading
Alexander Aan update
AAI launches appeal to support Alex Aan