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View all search resultsCalls mount to free activists arrested after riots
Several national figures, including former first lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid and former religious affairs minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, have urged the police to release activists accused of inciting last month’s nationwide riots, arguing they were merely young people exercising their right to freedom of expression.
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Message to the nation: Figures from pro-democracy group Gerakan Nurani Bangsa (GNB), including Sinta Nuriyah Wahid (third right), the wife of late former president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid delivered a message on national values at the Griya Gus Dur Movement House in Jakarta on Sept. 3, 2025. They urged President Prabowo Subianto to direct state institutions to act ethically, maintain national economic stability, and eliminate excessive allowances for public officials. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A)
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everal national figures, including former first lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid and former religious affairs minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, have urged the police to release activists accused of inciting last month’s nationwide riots, arguing they were merely exercising their right to freedom of expression.
In a letter to National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, members of the pro-democracy group Gerakan Nurani Bangsa (GNB) requested a suspension of the activists’ detention and expressed their willingness to serve as guarantors.
“We have agreed to be an integral part of the effort to secure the suspension. We are willing to act as guarantors,” Lukman said after visiting the detainees at Jakarta Police headquarters on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, police named four activists as suspects for allegedly persuading people, including minors, to join demonstrations that escalated into violence between late August and early September.
They are Lokataru Foundation director Delpedro Marhaen, staff member Muzzafar Salim, Gejayan Memanggil online activist Syahdan Husein and Riau University student Khariq Anhar. They face charges under Article 160 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on provocation, as well as several provisions of the 2014 Child Protection Law.
The protests began on Aug. 25 in Jakarta as a response to lawmakers’ lavish perks and perceived arrogance, before spreading nationwide. They escalated sharply after the death of Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old ojol (online motorcycle transportation driver) fatally struck by a police tactical vehicle near the Senayan Legislative Complex on Aug. 28. Footage of the incident spread rapidly online, fueling anger over police brutality and leading to riots and looting in several cities.
Rights groups and democracy advocates have condemned the arrests as unlawful and a dangerous precedent that undermines freedom of protest and assembly.
