Indonesian rock star Nazril Ariel reacts to the verdict during his trial at Bandung court in West Java Monday. Photo: AF

An Indonesian pop star whose sex tapes with his celebrity girlfriends spread wildly on the Internet was imprisoned Monday for 3.5 years, in a case that led to a wide crackdown on Internet porn in the country.

The trial highlighted a divide between a youthful Indonesia set against Internet censorship and conservative pressure groups in the world's most populous Muslim country, who rallied outside the court demanding a harsher penalty.

Nazril "Ariel" Irham, 30, was sentenced under a pornography law that was passed in 2008 to ban public displays of nudity and behavior that could incite lust.

"The defendant is legitimately and convincingly guilty of giving chances for others to spread, make and provide pornography," said judge Singgih Budi Prakoso in a west Java court, where 1,000 policemen tried to control a rowdy crowd.

Police said earlier that a friend of Irham's had taken the sex tape off his computer and posted it on the Internet. Irham denied it was him on the tape.

The crowd at the court included teenaged female fans of Irham's band, Peterpan, wearing T-shirts with the word "freedom," and members of Islamic groups wearing skullcaps and headscarves.

Members of both groups were angered by the verdict. Irham was also fined 250 million rupiah ($27,646).

Under the pornography law, anyone who produces, makes, copies, circulates, broadcasts, offers, trades, loans or provides pornography can be jailed for between six months and 12 years and can be fined up to 6 billion rupiah ($663,498).

After the Irham case blew up, Communications and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring, of the Islamic PKS party, called for tighter Internet controls.

Reuters