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View all search resultsCourt's rejection of activists’ pretrial motions sparks outcry
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Activists stage a rally at the South Jakarta District Court on Oct. 27, 2025 after the court rejected a pretrial motion filed by fellow activist Delpedro Marhaen, who claimed the police had acted without due process when they named him a suspect for inciting riots during August's nationwide protests. (Antara/Fauzan)
C
ivil groups have condemned the South Jakarta District Court’s decisions to reject the pretrial motions of four activists accused of inciting riots during the August protests, warning that the rulings set a troubling precedent for the criminalization of pro-democracy activism.
The four activists are rights group Lokataru Foundation director Delpedro Marhaen and staff member Muzaffar Salim as well as Gejayan Memanggil online activist Syahdan Husein and Riau University student activist Khariq Anhar.
They were arrested in early September following demonstrations that began on Aug. 25 in Jakarta to protest widening economic inequality, before escalating into nationwide unrest after the death of an online motorcycle transportation driver Affan Kurniawan, who was fatally run over by a police tactical vehicle.
The activists filed pretrial motions earlier this month challenging the validity of the Jakarta Police’s decision to name them as suspects for allegedly persuading people, including minors, to join the demonstrations.
In separate back-to-back hearings on Monday, judges at the South Jakarta District Court rejected the petitions and upheld the status of the four activists as suspects of provocation and spreading hoaxes to incite riots among underage children under the Criminal Code, the cyberlaw and the Child Protection Law.
The judges reasoned that the activists failed to prove any procedural violations in the police investigation into their cases, saying officers had followed due process and had found two sufficient pieces of evidence against the activists to name them suspects.
The rulings were met with jeers from dozens of members of civil groups who gathered to witness the hearings on Monday, as they raised banners demanding the release of Delpedro, Muzaffar, Syahdan and Khariq and blew whistles while flashing red cards toward the judges.
