Attorney General's Office files cassation appeal against acquittal of Delpedro and associates
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) has filed a cassation appeal against the acquittal of Delpedro Marhaen, Executive Director of the Lokataru Foundation, and his associates in a case of alleged incitement during the August 2025 demonstrations that turned violent.
“Indeed, the public prosecutors have filed a cassation appeal,” said Head of the Law Information Centre (Kapuspenkum) of Kejagung, Anang Supriatna, when confirmed by ANTARA in Jakarta on Tuesday.
He explained that the prosecutors filed the cassation due to the case being transferred to the court on 9 December 2025.
He stated that according to the transitional provisions in Article 361 letter c of Law Number 20 of 2025 on the Criminal Procedure Code, criminal cases that have been transferred to the court and where the examination process has begun shall continue to be examined, tried, and decided based on the provisions of Law Number 8 of 1981 on the Criminal Procedure Code (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia Year 1981 Number 76, Supplement to the State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia Number 3209), except for the review process which follows the 2025 KUHAP provisions.
“Thus, for the case involving Delpedro Marhaen Rismansyah and associates, which was decided with an acquittal (vrijspraak) during the examination period, the legal remedy shall still refer to Law Number 8 of 1981 on Criminal Procedure (old KUHAP), so a cassation appeal is pursued for that case,” he said.
In addition to Delpedro, three other defendants were acquitted: Lokataru staff Muzaffar Salim, Gejayan Memanggil admin Syahdan Husein, and Aliansi Mahasiswa Penggugat admin Khariq Anhar.
The four defendants were acquitted after being found not guilty of committing the criminal offence in the alleged incitement case during the August 2025 demonstrations that turned violent.
In the trial, the public prosecutors were deemed unable to present evidence showing any manipulation, fabrication, or engineering of facts by the defendants.
Consequently, the Panel of Judges ordered the public prosecutors to restore the rights, status, dignity, and honour of the defendants.
Previously, the four defendants were sentenced to two years in prison, as they were believed to be legally and convincingly guilty of committing a criminal offence, namely participating in a public incitement offence by word or writing to urge people to commit a crime or to incite people to resist public authority with violence.
In the case, Delpedro and his associates were charged with uploading 80 collaborative contents that were inciting, aimed at stirring hatred against the government from 24-29 August 2025.
It was stated that the defendants uploaded electronic information on social media managed by the four defendants, which invited students to get involved in the riots.
The invitations via social media were produced from 24-29 August 2025, where the narratives uploaded by the defendants incited students, mostly minors, to follow and cause anarchy in front of the DPR RI, in front of Polda Metro Jaya, and several other places.
One of the uploads that formed the basis of the charge was a poster reading “Legal aid for students taking to the streets” with the caption “Are you a student joining the action? Don’t be afraid if there’s intimidation or criminalisation, just contact us.”