Activists Rally at East Java High Prosecutor's Office Demanding Legal Transparency
Hundreds of people grouped under the Indonesian Millennial Activists Association (HAMI) staged a demonstration outside the East Java High Prosecutor’s Office (Kejati Jatim) on Friday afternoon (10/7).
They pressed for legal transparency and urged the President of the Republic of Indonesia to carry out a total revitalisation of the prosecution service.
The protesters unfurled several large banners reading “The law is not a tool of the prosecutors! Reject interference, uphold justice” and “Enforce the law without interference, and thoroughly investigate corruption allegations without selective enforcement”.
Traffic along the main road in front of the Kejati Jatim offices slowed slightly as a result of the protest.
The person in charge of the action, SS Saladin, said in his speech that the protest was a form of public disappointment over alleged abuses of authority and legal arrogance seen recently.
“We are here to encourage clean and transparent compliance with the law in Indonesia. We ask for the direct attention of the President so that law enforcement institutions remain within their proper corridors,” Saladin said in his speech on Friday (10/7).
CIVIL LAW ENFORCEMENT
In the protest notification letter numbered 082.B.1/HAMI/07.2026 submitted to the East Java Regional Police, HAMI brought at least seven main demands. One crucial point they raised was the involvement of non-law-enforcement personnel in civil law enforcement.
The protesters urged the Attorney General’s Office to clarify the legal basis and urgency of deploying non-law-enforcement personnel to secure the residence of the JAM-Pidsus.
This involvement drew scrutiny because it coincided with searches being carried out by the National Police’s Corruption Eradication Task Force (Kortas Tipikor Polri) in Jakarta and West Java.
“We demand that all forms of intervention by non-law-enforcement agencies in legal processes under police authority be stopped. This is to safeguard the principle of separation between state defence functions and law enforcement as regulated by law,” Saladin said, reading out the group’s demands.
Furthermore, the protesters cited the provisions of Law No 34 of 2004 as amended by Law No 3 of 2025 on the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to remind state institutions of the limits of their respective functions.
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
Beyond criticising, the HAMI protesters also expressed full support for the Kortas Tipikor Polri in thoroughly investigating ongoing corruption cases, including tracing seized assets.
They demanded that the principle of equality before the law be upheld so that no special treatment or exclusive privileges are granted to certain state officials currently embroiled in legal cases.
“There must be no impression of immunity from the law. We also warn of the potential crime of obstruction of justice for anyone, or any party, who attempts to hinder, obstruct or derail the investigations being carried out by the police,” he continued.