Woman complaint about volume of mosque's loudspeakers gets 18 mon prison of blasphemy

In a conversation with the daughter of the caretaker of her neighbourhood mosque, Meiliana had commented that the five-times-daily call to prayer was too loud.

A High Court has upheld an 18-month prison sentence for a woman convicted of blasphemy in Indonesia after complaining about the volume of a mosque's loudspeakers.

The woman's lawyer, Ranto Sibarani, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the decision would be appealed to the Supreme Court.

The ethnic Chinese woman, Meiliana, was sentenced in August, more than two years after her comments sparked rioting in her hometown Tanjung Balai on the island of Sumatra.

In a conversation with the daughter of the caretaker of her neighbourhood mosque, Meiliana had commented that the five-times-daily call to prayer was too loud.

Indonesia's largest Muslim organizations have said her complaint wasn't blasphemy and have criticized her imprisonment.