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Six charged over Kanjuruhan soccer stadium disaster
The suspects include three police officers over their use of tear gas, the head of the organizing committee and the chief security officer of the home club Arema FC.
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School children walk past a banner placed in various places in Malang, East Java, on October 6, 2022, as a call to investigate the stampede that killed at least 131 people in one of the deadliest disasters in football history. ( AFP/Juni Kriswanto)
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ix people including police and match organizers are facing criminal charges in Indonesia over a stampede at a soccer game at the weekend that killed at least 131 people, the country's police chief said on Thursday.
Saturday's stampede in the Malang, East Java, was among the world's worst sporting disasters, as hundreds of soccer fans tried to flee a stadium riot and the firing of tear gas by police, leading to a crush worsened by several locked exits.
National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo told a news conference that organizers and police were among those being investigated and more people may be charged.
"Based on the investigation and sufficient evidence, we have determined six suspects," Listyo said.
They would be charged with criminal negligence causing death, which carries a maximum five-year prison sentence if found guilty.
The suspects include three police officers over their use of tear gas, the head of the organizing committee and the chief security officer of the home club Arema FC.
Read also: Police once more in eye of storm
The Soccer Association of Indonesia (PSSI) had earlier banned the Arema FC organizing committee chief and a security officer from soccer for life.
The announcement came as anger grew over the police response to a pitch invasion.
Officers reacted by firing tear gas into packed stands as fans of Arema FC tried to approach players following their defeat to fierce rivals Persebaya Surabaya on Saturday evening.
The police chief said 11 officers in total fired tear gas "to prevent more spectators from taking to the field" but caused spectators "to panic and... try to immediately leave the arena."
They fired eight canisters into the stands and three onto the pitch, according to the police investigation.
'Not opened completely'
Hundreds of people fled for small exits, resulting in a crush that left many trampled or suffocating to death. Witnesses said the gates were closed.
Listyo said the "doors were not opened completely...and the stewards were not in place" when the match ended.
In the crush, "most of the dead victims suffered from asphyxia".
The organizer of the soccer league, PT LIB, also "did not verify" the safety of the stadium since 2020 and the organizing committee of Arema FC "did not prepare an emergency plan", he said.
Earlier, PSSI said some exits were locked.
Read also: Soccer killing field
Police described the pitch invasion as a riot and said two officers were killed, but survivors accused them of overreacting.
Officers responded with force, kicking and hitting fans with batons, according to witnesses and footage, pushing the spectators back into the stands where many would die after tear gas was fired.
Several witnesses said police stood by and refused to help victims.
Instead, bystanders rushed to help.
Nationwide audit
The government had set up a fact-finding team in an effort to reveal the culprits of the deadly stampede, among the deadliest soccer-related tragedies since a crush in Peru in 1964 killed more than 300.
The investigation comes as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo ordered an audit on the stadia across the country to make sure the country's security is up to code, adding that "locked doors and steep stairs" were key factors in the incident.
The Malang police chief was replaced Monday, nine officers were suspended and 19 others were put under investigation, according to police.
Organizers of the match and club officials have also been blamed for the chaos.
PSSI moved to sanction Arema FC on Tuesday, fining the club Rp 250 million ($16,420) on top of the life bans for two of its officials.
Maike Ira Puspita, the association's deputy secretary-general, told AFP it had imposed sanctions on the club and its officials "due to the... negligence of the whole situation".
The association has declined to comment on the police response to a pitch invasion, which has come under increasing fire since the tragedy unfolded.
The government has suspended the country's national soccer league, LIB, until the investigation concludes.
