T

he quest for justice is far from over for Andro Supriyantyo, 23, and Nurdin Prianto, 28, former street musicians who were wrongfully convicted of murdering a man in Cipulir, South Jakarta in 2013.

The Supreme Court overturned their convictions in 2014 following legal efforts launched by them and Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta). The South Jakarta District Court had previously sentenced them to seven years each for the murder of a man named Dicky.

Even though Andro and Nurdin have been declared innocent, neither has received any compensation, despite the fact they had been imprisoned for a year and severely tortured by the police to confess to a murder they did not commit.

In 2016 they sought Rp 1 billion (US$ 67,398) compensation at the South Jakarta District Court, which had found them guilty. The court awarded them compensation, but only Rp 36 million each.

Two years have passed but Andro and Nurdin have still not received even that sum.

According to the 2015 Regulation on the Implementation of the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP), the Finance Ministry is tasked with disbursing compensation money. However, the ministry had declined to execute the court order arguing that there was no technical regulation to allow it to do so.

Assisted by LBH Jakarta, their families filed a non-litigation hearing with the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s Laws and Regulations Directorate General on Aug. 6 to settle the dispute.

At the first hearing on Friday, attended by LBH Jakarta lawyer Shaleh Al Ghifari, Andro’s mother, Marni, and representatives of the Finance Ministry, it was agreed that the ministry would make the payment no later than Dec. 30.

The payment would be made based on the 2018 Finance Ministry Regulation on Methods to Revise the 2018 Budget issued on Sept. 4.

“The payment should be approved by at least the end of the 2018 state budget, no later than Dec. 14, and disbursed no later than Dec. 30,” Nasrudin, the head of a team set up by the Law and Human Rights ministry to examine the case, said on Friday.

Marni said she hoped that she could receive the compensation soon, as her son and her family had suffered a lot because of the case.

“Sometimes I just want to give up because I’m so tired of all of this. The amount of compensation is not significant, but I just want to see the court decision being enforced. I just want justice,” Marni said.

The resident of Ciledug, South Jakarta, who sells clothes in a traditional market, said that during the period of her son’s detention and trial, she spent a lot of money going back and forth to the police station, LBH Jakarta, the court and the prison.

During interrogation, Andro was beaten, kicked, stripped naked and subjected to electric shocks as investigators forced him confess to the murder. His shoulder and rib cage were permanently damaged as a result of the torture.

Andro failed to get a proper job after his release because the torture had not only harmed him physically, but also psychologically.

Marni said her son’s mental condition was unstable, that he sometimes gazed blankly and did nothing. He also got angry quickly, a behavioral trait that only developed after the case.

“Since I don’t have money, I only bring him to a shaman. If I receive the compensation, I can bring him to a doctor and help him start a small business,” Marni said.

Agung Widiadi, budget director at the Finance Ministry, said the ministry would pay the compensation as stated in the agreement. However, the ministry had to wait for the relevant bodies, namely the court and the prosecutors, to propose the disbursement of the compensation, he said.