Amnesty International Responds to Two-Year Prison Sentence Demands Against Delpedro and Others
Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid has condemned the two-year prison sentence demanded by prosecutors against Delpedro Marhaen, director of Lokataru Foundation, and associates, saying it confirms a “muzzling operation” scheme.
“Prosecutors are sending a wrong message that voicing criticism is a criminal act. This demand also confirms the state’s ‘muzzling operation’ scheme against criticism, as civil society groups have warned,” Usman said when contacted on Saturday, 28 February.
He argued that the two-year prison sentence under incitement charges violates human rights. Usman contends that Delpedro and others’ actions, which prosecutors deem criminal, actually represent legitimate participation in free expression and assembly protected by the constitution.
He explained that Delpedro and others merely set up complaint posts, monitored field conditions, and accompanied student victims of arrests and cancellations of Jakarta Smart Cards (KJP).
“This is not criminal action,” Usman asserted. Similarly, satirical expression and dissemination of information about meetings or expression on social media should not be prosecuted as incitement.
“Imprisoning expressions of criticism against the state is not law enforcement but a form of malicious prosecution with no clear basis. This is evident in prosecutors’ indictment using layered charges, ranging from the Information and Electronic Transactions Law, the Criminal Code to the child protection law to criminalise peaceful expression,” he said.
Usman added that the legal proceedings against Delpedro and others, as well as many cases related to August demonstrations last year, have violated fair trial principles from the outset.
“This is clear from arrests without official documents, confiscation without court authorisation, to establishing suspect status without prior witness examinations and case conferences,” he noted.
The government has from the beginning constructed a false narrative that the August mass action resulted from incitement by activists, Usman continued. In reality, people took to the streets in anger over state policies unfavourable to the people, from tax increases to parliamentary allowances.
Anger peaked when the state responded with repression, including an attack by a Brimob armoured vehicle that killed ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan.
“The government must stop scapegoating activists for its failure to manage violence that tainted public protests as an exercise of freedom of expression,” Usman said.
“The government must withdraw all criminalisation proceedings against activists and ordinary citizens who merely spoke peacefully during the August 2025 actions,” he added.
Usman hopes the Central Jakarta District Court judges will have the courage to end the criminalisation series by rejecting all prosecutors’ demands. He stated that judges are not executive tools endorsing authorities’ narratives but the final bastion of justice.
“If judges convict Delpedro and others merely for speaking peacefully, then there is nothing left to prevent authoritarian practices,” Usman warned.
“It is time the parliament and government stop silencing criticism and take steps to revise regulations inconsistent with human rights principles. This is crucial to ensure safe space for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in Indonesia,” he concluded.
Previously, prosecutors demanded the Central Jakarta District Court impose a two-year prison sentence on Delpedro Marhaen.
Similar sentences were demanded for three other defendants: Lokataru Foundation staff and Instagram account manager for Student Political Bloc Muzaffar Salim, @gejayanmemanggil admin Syahdan Husein, and Riau University student and Protesting Student Alliance admin Khariq Anhar.
According to prosecutors, the defendants electronically incited demonstrations on 25-30 August 2025 that resulted in riots causing public facilities damage and injuries to officers, violating Articles 246 of the 2023 Criminal Code and Article 20(c) of the Criminal Code.
“(Demanding the court) impose prison sentences on Defendant I Delpedro Marhaen, Defendant II Muzaffar Salim, Defendant III Syahdan Husein, and Defendant IV Khariq Anhar for two years, minus time already served,” prosecutors said when reading the sentence demand at the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday, 27 February.