Activist from Bandung Arrested on Day of Release from Prison — How Is This Possible?
Police from Surabaya Regional Police (Polrestabes Surabaya) arrested activist and student Muhammad Ainun Komarullah, known as Komar, from Bandung, on the day of his release from Kebon Waru Detention Centre in Bandung, Monday (9 March).
The case began when Komar was sentenced to six months imprisonment by Bandung District Court on 12 February 2026. He was found guilty of managing the Instagram account @blackbloczone, which was deemed to have incited violence during the August 2025 riots at the West Java Regional Assembly (DPRD) complex.
After completing his sentence, Komar was scheduled to be released on Monday (9 March). However, Surabaya Regional Police were waiting at the detention centre gates with an arrest warrant in hand.
Head of Criminal Investigation Division at Polrestabes Surabaya AKBP Edy Herwiyanto confirmed the arrest. He explained that Komar’s case status in Surabaya had reached the P21 stage, meaning the investigation was complete.
“It is true and the suspect has been handed over to the state prosecutor as the case has reached P21 stage. As of Tuesday, 10 March 2026,” said Edy when confirmed by CNNIndonesia.com.
Edy stated that Komar was arrested due to social media posts he managed that contributed to riots in the area of Grahadi State Building in Surabaya in August 2025.
“The case involves incitement using the @blackblokzone account that resulted in riots at Grahadi,” he said.
Head of Public Relations at Polrestabes Surabaya, AKP Hadi Ismanto, detailed that Komar was charged with multiple articles related to incitement and spreading false information.
“Article 45A paragraph (2) and paragraph (3) in conjunction with Article 28 paragraph (2) and (3) of the Republic of Indonesia Law No. 1 of 2024 on the second amendment to Law No. 11 of 2008 on Information and Electronic Transactions and/or Article 187 of the Criminal Code and/or Article 363 of the Criminal Code and/or Article 170 of the Criminal Code and/or Article 160 of the Criminal Code and/or Article 406 of the Criminal Code and/or Article 212 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 55 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 56 of the Criminal Code,” said Hadi.
This police action has drawn sharp criticism from human rights advocates. Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, believes the arrest of Komar on his release day undermines the sense of justice and potentially violates the principle of double jeopardy.
“Arresting and detaining someone on the day of release after serving a prison sentence is an action that violates the principle of public justice. This police action also potentially violates the principle of ne bis in idem in criminal law, which emphasises that a person should not be tried more than once for the same act,” said Usman.
Similarly, Director of the Surabaya Legal Aid Institute (LBH Surabaya), Habibus Shalihin, believes there is an indication of negligence by law enforcement regarding applicable legal regulations, particularly concerning repeated punishment for the same digital content.
“In Komar’s case, there is actually an indication that law enforcement is negligent towards several regulations, one of which concerns the principle that a single case cannot be tried multiple times, or what is known as ne bis in idem,” said Habibus.
He added that the arrest practice carried out by Polrestabes Surabaya could set a bad precedent for freedom of expression in the digital space.
“This is a form of state pressure on the people. And this will set a bad precedent, especially concerning digital space. It could be that digital content is uploaded in Surabaya and then viewed in Bali. What then? Tried in Surabaya, tried in Bali as well. That is not allowed under legal principles,” he said.