Indonesian man jailed for two-and-a-half years for writing ‘God doesn’t exist’ on his Facebook page

An Indonesian man was jailed for 30 months after writing "God doesn't exist" on his Facebook page.

Alexander Aan, 30, was imprisoned on Thursday for sharing explicit material about the Prophet Mohammed online.

He started an atheist group on Facebook on which he shared comic strips of the prophet having sex with his servant, a court in western Sumatra heard today.

Alexander Aan, 30, waits in the jail holding area during his verdict at the Muaro Sijunjung district court in West Sumatra today

He was found guilty of 'deliberately spreading information inciting religious hatred and animosity', presiding judge Eka Prasetya Budi Dharma told the Muaro Sijunjung district court in western Sumatra.

Aan also uploaded three articles on his Facebook account, including one describing the prophet being attracted to his daughter-in-law.

'Under the Electronic Information and Transactions law, we sentence him to prison for a length of two years and six months,' Dharma said.

'What he did has caused anxiety to the community and tarnished Islam.'

Aan listens to the judges before being jailed for 30 months for setting up an atheist Facebook group, writing "God doesn't exist" on his Facebook page, and for sharing explicit material about the Prophet Mohammed online

Aan was beaten by an angry mob and arrested by police in his hometown of Pulau Punjung in western Sumatra in January after posting the material online and declaring himself an atheist.

The court had earlier indicted Aan with two other charges - persuading others to embrace atheism and blasphemy.

Alexander Aan has been jailed for setting up an atheist Facebook group

Prosecutors had sought a three-and-a-half-year jail term for him.

But the court convicted him of the most serious charge and dropped the other two.

Aan's arrest sparked outrage among Indonesians and international activists, who showed their support on his Facebook group and circulated petitions to have his charges dropped.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, guarantees freedom of religion in its constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but only recognises six faiths: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Confucianism