Indonesia seeks jail for Muslim cleric who 'married' girl, 12

Indonesian prosecutors on Thursday demanded a wealthy Muslim cleric who took a 12-year-old girl as his unofficial wife be convicted of sexually abusing a child and given six years in prison. Pujiono Cahyo Widiyanto, 45, from the Central Java city of Semarang, sparked nationwide controversy over his decision to marry poor village girl Lutfiana Ulfa.

"We recommend six years prison for him. He has been proven legally as being sexually abusive towards women, especially towards this underage person," prosecutor Suningsih, who goes by one name, said. "As the owner of a religious school he doesn't set a good example," she said.



Widiyanto, also known as Sheikh Puji, married Ulfa in August 2008. He had defended the unofficial marriage, his second, saying that the girl had reached puberty.

Widiyanto previously said his actions were acceptable under Islam but critics said he should abide by state law, which sets 16 as the minimum age for marriage. Indonesian law has harsh penalties for pedophilia, but unregistered and therefore unofficial marriages between older men and under-age girls are common in rural areas.