Police at Surabaya Metropolitan Police Headquarters arrested an\nactivist and student from Bandung, Muhammad Ainun Komarullah, commonly\nknown as Komar, on 9 March, precisely on the day of his release from\nKebon Waru Detention Centre in Bandung.<\/p>\n
Komar had just completed his prison sentence on charges of\nprovocation in connection with demonstrations in Bandung in August 2025.\nHe now faces similar legal proceedings for incidents in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
According to information from the Bandung Legal Aid Institute (LBH\nBandung), Komar was previously sentenced to six months imprisonment by\nthe Bandung District Court on 12 February 2026. He was found guilty of\nmanaging the Instagram account @blackbloczone<\/span>, which was deemed to\nhave incited unrest during riots at the West Java Regional\nRepresentative Assembly (DPRD) complex.<\/p>\n However, immediately upon his release, officers from Surabaya\nMetropolitan Police arrived with an arrest warrant.<\/p>\n Usman Hamid, human rights advocate and Executive Director of Amnesty\nInternational Indonesia, condemned the police action as undermining the\nsense of justice and potentially violating the legal principle regarding\ndouble prosecution.<\/p>\n \u201cArresting and detaining someone on the day of their release after\nserving a prison sentence is an action that violates the principle of\npublic justice. This police action also potentially violates the\nprinciple of ne bis in idem in criminal law, which emphasises that a\nperson should not be tried more than once for the same act,\u201d Usman\nstated.<\/p>\n Usman emphasised that Komar has atoned for his wrongdoing through his\nprison sentence in Bandung. He also regretted the repeated use of\nincitement charges against Komar and other civil society members.<\/p>\n According to him, the authorities should follow instructions from the\nCoordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and\nCorrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, not to seek grounds to oppose\nactivists\u2019 acquittals.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter completing his prison sentence in Bandung, Komar was not even\ngiven the opportunity to embrace his family who had been waiting. He was\nimmediately arrested by authorities regarding the second-stage transfer\nto the Tanjung Perak State Prosecutor\u2019s Office in Surabaya related to\nalleged incitement that led to riots in Surabaya during August 2025\ndemonstrations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Habibus Shalihin, Director of the Surabaya Legal Aid Institute, said\nhis organisation was working to provide legal assistance to Komar.<\/p>\n He viewed Komar\u2019s arrest as a disregard for the principle of ne bis\nin idem, which remains in effect as regulated in Law No 1 of 2023\nconcerning the New Criminal Code.<\/p>\n \u201cIn Komar\u2019s case, there is actually evidence that law enforcement\nofficials have been negligent regarding several regulations, one of\nwhich concerns the principle that a single case cannot be tried multiple\ntimes, or what is called ne bis in idem,\u201d said Habibus.<\/p>\n Habibus also viewed this action as the state\u2019s attempt, through law\nenforcement officers, to suppress and criminalise groups of civil\nsociety members who are critical, both in public spaces and digital\nspaces.<\/p>\n According to him, repeated prosecution in different locations for the\nsame digital content would set a dangerous precedent for freedom of\nexpression.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a form of state pressure on the people. And this will create\na dangerous precedent, especially regarding digital spaces. It could be\nthat digital content is uploaded in Surabaya and then viewed in Bali.\nShould it then be tried in Surabaya and also in Bali? That is not\npermitted under legal principles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For his part, AKBP Edy Herwiyanto, Head of the Criminal Investigation\nDivision at Surabaya Metropolitan Police, confirmed that his officers\nhad arrested Komar. He is now classified as a suspect.<\/p>\n \u201cConfirmed, and the suspect has been handed over to the Public\nProsecutor\u2019s Office as the case is at the P21 stage. As of Tuesday, 10\nMarch 2026,\u201d said Edy when contacted by CNNIndonesia.com.<\/p>\n Edy stated the case relates to the impact of posts from a social\nmedia account managed by Komar on the demonstration situation that ended\nin rioting in the Grahadi State Building area, Surabaya, in August\n2025.<\/p>\n \u201cThe case involves incitement using the BlackBlokzone account that\nresulted in riots at Grahadi,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n AKP Hadi Ismanto, Head of Public Relations at Surabaya Metropolitan\nPolice, said Komar has been charged with numerous articles concerning\nincitement, the spread of false information causing riots in society,\nand several other charges.<\/p>\n \u201cArticles 45A paragraphs (2) and (3) in conjunction with Article 28\nparagraphs (2) and (3) of Law Number 1 of 2024 amending Law Number 11 of\n2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions, and\/or Article\n187 of the Criminal Code, and\/or Article 363 of the Criminal Code,\nand\/or Article 170 of the Criminal Code, and\/or Article 160 of the\nCriminal Code, and\/or Article 406 of the Criminal Code, and\/or Article\n212 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Articles 55 and 56 of the\nCriminal Code,\u201d said Hadi.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bandung-activist-re-arrested-on-day-of-release-from-detention-1773229923",
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