Because she questioned the volume of the mosque loud speaker, Meliana was sentenced to 1.5 years’ imprisonment. Indonesia for Humanity (IKa) provided support to Meliana in order to resolve her case.
Meliana is an ethic Chinese woman, born and brought up in the town of Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra. She has four children and sells salt fish. Meliana’s day to day activities are the same as the other women in her area; she leaves home in the morning and works until the evening, she lives in a friendly neighborhood where everyone greets one another.
However, her life changed drastically on 22 July 2016. On that date, at around 07.00 in the morning, Meliana was buying provisions at Mrs Uwo’s stall. While chatting, Meliana said: “Mrs Uwo, the sound of the mosque loud speaker didn’t used to be as loud as this did it Mrs Uwo?” and then she returned home.
A world turned upside down
On 29th July 2012 at around 19.00 in the evening, five men went to Meliana’s home, accusing her of calling for a ban of the call to prayer. At the same time, a crowd gathered outside her house. Meliana’s husband, Mr Lian Tui, went directly to the Al Maksum mosque to apologize to the mosque authorities.
Nevertheless, at around 20.00 the same evening the local security and police officers went to Meliana’s home and asked her to accompany them to the local administrative headman’s office as news that ‘a Chinese woman had prohibited the call to prayer’ was spreading fast around Tanjung Balai. Consequently, Meliana’s home was attacked, stones thrown through her windows and the front of the house set on fire.
From that day on, Meliana had to face many changes to her life. She was under investigation from 26 July 2916 to 30 May 2018, at which point the case was considered ready for trial. Meliana was detained on 30 May 2018 and held in Tanjung Gusta prison in Tanjung Balai, Medan, as the case was to be tried in the Medan State Court.
The first hearing was held on 25 June 2018. There were 12 hearings held in total leading up to the day when the judges reached their decision on 20 August 2018. Meliana was subjected to harassment and abuse from the crowds in attendance throughout the trial, including those from the Medan Belawan Islamic Umma Forum. They shouted and screamed threats and insults at her and the judiciary.
These conditions increased the trauma that Meliana experienced throughout the process. In her pain, her tears streamed down her face as she recounts her emotions and the things she experienced during the trial.
The judges announced their decision on 20 August 2018, handing down a sentence of 1.5 years’ imprisonment. Meliana decided to appeal the decision even though she was unsure whether she should appeal or not. Her indecision was based on considering her children who had already suffered: reading news about their mother’s case was unavoidable. Meliana was also thinking about her family’s safety. However, based on the advice of her legal team she agreed to appeal the court’s decision on 24 August 2018.
Pundi Perempuan Support for Meliana
Throughout her ordeal Meliana received support from a number of different sources, including organizations and individuals such as the United North Sumatra Alliance (Aliansi Sumut Bersatu), Deva Sebaya, a religious teacher from Medan, the National Commission for Women, Gajah Mada University Faculty of Law, Onename Foundation Jogjakarta (Yayasan Satunama Jogjakarta) and the PETRASA Foundation from Sidikalang.
Indonesia for Humanity (IKa) provided a grant of 20 million rupiah to support Meliana via the Pundi Perempuan grant to help cover the cost of meetings and the preparation of trial documents, counselling services, expert witnesses and consultants as well as the travel of supporting organizations from Medan and Jakarta. The handling of this case required a number of different strategies and approaches. The psychological needs of the family, particularly Meliana’s husband and her youngest child who actively supported her to face her fears and trauma. It will take a long time for Meliana and her family to heal.