Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, Jakarta’s first Christian governor in decades and one of the most prominent non-Muslim politicians in Indonesian history, was sentenced to two years in prison for blasphemy on Tuesday, the latest indication of increasing religious conservatism in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Head judge Dwiarso Budi Santiarto read the verdict that Mr Purnama, widely known as Ahok, had “convincingly conducted a criminal act of blasphemy, and because of that we have imposed two years of imprisonment”.

The case stems from an episode late last year on the campaign trail for the Jakarta gubernatorial election, when Mr Purnama gave a speech suggesting that some Muslim clerics were improperly citing a Koranic verse. Videos of his speech spread around the internet, arousing huge Islamist demonstrations against him. Mr Purnama ultimately lost his re-election bid in mid-April, an outcome widely chalked up to the candidate’s defiance of conservative Muslim figures.