Hundreds of radical Muslims attacked several churches in central Indonesia on Tuesday. After hurling stones at a courthouse in Temanggung, they set fire to two church buildings and threw rocks at a third.
The violence occurred after a judge sentenced 58-year-old Antonius Bawengan, a Christian, to five years in prison for blaspheming Islam.
"Today was the climax of the trial. The mob shouted that he should receive the death sentence or be handed over to the public," Central Java province police spokesman Djihartono told the AFP.
Indonesian law does not call for the death penalty in blasphemy cases. The maximum sentence for such an offense is five years in prison.
Meanwhile, religious rights group say blasphemy laws are used to persecute religious minorities in predominantly Muslim nations. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world.