Jakarta Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat will be appointed as the acting governor after the court sentenced Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) to two years imprisonment for committing blasphemy against Islam.

"I will assign the deputy governor (of Jakarta) as the acting governor until the end of the term," Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo revealed here on Tuesday.

Kumolo will immediately seek a copy of the court ruling in Ahoks case to designate Djarot as the acting governor until October 2017, a step that will also dismiss Ahok from the governors position he had been serving since October 2014.

The North Jakarta District Courts panel of judges decided to detain Ahok after the court found him guilty of religious blasphemy and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. The sentence was heavier than the two years probation that the state prosecutors had recommended earlier.

Ahok was brought to the Cipinang prison in East Jakarta shortly after the hearing, as the court had ordered for the sentence to be carried out immediately.

In response to the verdict given by the panel of judges, headed by Dwiarso Budi Santiarto, Ahok and his team of lawyers said they will prepare an appeal against the courts decision.

Source: ANTARA