JAKARTA – An Indonesian court has sentenced a woman to two years in prison and handed her a heavy fine after she recited an Islamic prayer before eating pork in a viral TikTok video widely criticised in the Muslim-majority country.

Lina Mukherjee, 33, was found guilty of “spreading information aimed at inciting hatred against religious individuals and specific groups” in a court on Tuesday in the South Sumatra city of Palembang, according to the verdict.

It came after a resident reported Mukherjee in March for the video, which amassed millions of views, in which she uttered a Muslim prayer that translates to “in the name of God”, before consuming crispy pork skin.

Pork is considered impure and unclean under Islam, which is the dominant religion in Indonesia, and Muslims are prohibited from eating it.

Mukherjee identifies herself as a Muslim and her actions were condemned by conservative groups including the country’s top Muslim clerical body, the Indonesian Ulema Council, which issued a ruling calling the video blasphemous.

She was also fined 250 million rupiah (S$22,177) for which her jail term would be extended by three months if it was not paid.

This is the latest in a string of blasphemy cases in the country.

In 2022, Indonesian police arrested six people on charges of blasphemy over a bar chain’s free alcohol promotion for patrons named Mohammed.

Rights groups have long campaigned against the laws that they say are frequently misused to target religious minorities.

Jakarta’s former governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, was jailed for nearly two years on controversial blasphemy charges in 2017.

Mr Basuki, a Christian, was jailed for comments he made on the campaign trail during a re-election bid that saw him accused of insulting Islam. AFP