Ariel Deems Charges Against Student Activist Tommy Wiria 'Groundless and Forced'
Tommy Wiria’s legal adviser, I Made “Ariel” Suardana, has contended that the charges filed by public prosecutors (JPU) against his client in an alleged incitement case lack substance and appear forced. Wiria is a student and activist who manages the social media account @Balitidakdiam.
Ariel stressed that the detention of Tommy lacks urgency and ought to be suspended. This statement was made following the prosecution hearing at Denpasar District Court (PN) on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.
According to Ariel, the essence of this case stems solely from a social media post that actually represented a response to the social circumstances at that time, rather than an invitation to commit unlawful acts.
“When read in full, it is merely a call for consolidation and a response to the situation. There is no incitement to cause unrest or criminal acts,” he stated.
Ariel contended that the post actually reflected Tommy’s social concern regarding prevailing conditions in society. In his post, Tommy invited students, online motorcycle taxi drivers, and youth to gather and voice their position on what he termed state violence.
However, Ariel argued that prosecutors drew excessive conclusions by linking the post to various criminal provisions, including articles he deemed irrelevant.
“There is no direct contact or incident involving children. Yet suddenly the Child Protection Law was invoked. This is a form of forced legal expansion,” he asserted.
Ariel also noted that the case follows a pattern similar to the criminalisation of those taking critical positions in public discourse. He contended that the charges as formulated do not reflect the actual legal circumstances.
Beyond questioning the substance of the charges, Ariel also highlighted the detention of his client. He argued that this measure was disproportionate given that the case concerns only a social media post.
“Why detain him for an extended period when this matter only involves a posting? It would be more appropriate to convert it to city detention or home detention,” he stated.
According to him, detention could cause harm should the defendant ultimately be acquitted. Consequently, his team will request suspension of detention in subsequent court proceedings.
Previously, in his prosecution statement, Public Prosecutor Eddy Atha Wijaya outlined that the case originated from Tommy’s social media activity on Instagram through the account @balitidakdiam.
On Thursday, 28 August 2025, Tommy allegedly created a flyer after receiving information via social media concerning an issue regarding the death of a person described as “killed by police”. The flyer displayed a visual of a pig’s head adorned with police uniform attributes against a red background, accompanied by text with the tone of calls such as “corrupt officers”, “fight state violence”, and “retaliate against state violence”, along with invitations to “bring your friends” and “swell the consolidation”.
The prosecution stated that the invitation was directed at gathering crowds on Friday, 29 August 2025 at 18:00 WITA at the Bali Legal Aid Institute (LBH Bali).
Subsequently, on Friday, 29 August 2025 around 10:33 WITA, Tommy allegedly uploaded the flyer to the Instagram account @balitidakdiam, which was publicly accessible.
Prosecutors argued that the post triggered mass gathering which subsequently led to a protest on 30 August 2025 in front of the Bali Regional Police Headquarters, which the prosecution described as culminating in anarchic behaviour and property destruction.
On this basis, Tommy was charged under Article 247 of the Criminal Code regarding incitement to commit violence or resist authority, as well as Article 243 (1) of the Criminal Code concerning the spreading of enmity that could potentially cause violence. Additionally, prosecutors filed alternative charges under the Information Technology Law, namely Article 45A (3) in conjunction with Article 28 (3), as well as Article 87 in conjunction with Article 76H of the Child Protection Law.