"(He has been) apprehended," chief of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department, Senior Commissioner Agus Andrianto, said.
Kace was arrested at the resort island and was to be taken to Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon for questioning by the National Police's Criminal Investigation Department, he said.
The arrest of Muhammad Kace, a former Muslim who has converted to Christianity, was carried following a police probe into complaints filed by Muslims, who accused him of having repeatedly insulted Islam and the Prophet in his videos.
In some of his remarks, which have gone viral, Kace has, for instance, said Muhammad bin Abdullah (the prophet) was "surrounded by devils and liars", ANTARA noted.
He is also alleged to have intentionally insulted the teachings of Quran and changed the greeting for Muslims.
Prior to his arrest, the Indonesian Communication and Informatics Ministry had disclosed that the contents of Kace's videos had violated the rules of Indonesia's Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law.
For preventing the proliferation of blasphemous content on social media platforms, the ministry has provided a special website (https://www.aduankonten.id/), where content violating the law can be reported by the public, officials said.
Kace's blasphemy case has triggered public outrage over the past few days, with the youth wing of Muhammadiyah, Pemuda Muhammadiyah (PM), urging the police to immediately take action against him.
Muhammadiyah is Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization after the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).
Chairman of PM-Central Jakarta chapter Akmil Faisal was quoted by CNN Indonesia on Wednesday as saying that he would organize a mass rally if the police did not arrest Kace.
According to CNN Indonesia, Faisal gave the police three days to nab Kace, and called on people to stay calm and keep maintaining unity among interfaith communities in the country.
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Translator: Laily R, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
