Delpedro and Others Acquitted
Delpedro Marhaen, Executive Director of the Lokataru Foundation, and several co-defendants have been acquitted of a case alleging incitement in August 2025 demonstrations that ended in clashes, in a verdict read by the presiding panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday, 6 March.
In addition to Delpedro, three other defendants acquitted by the panel were Lokataru staff Muzaffar Salim; Gejayan Memanggil administrator Syahdan Husein; and Aliansi Mahasiswa Penggugat administrator Khariq Anhar.
‘The panel finds that the defendants were not proven guilty of offences as charged under alternative counts two, three and four of the public prosecutors’ indictment,’ said Chief Judge Harika Nova Yeri.
The panel ordered the public prosecutors to restore the defendants’ rights in terms of capability, standing, honour and dignity.
In court, the Chief Judge noted that the public prosecutors had failed to present evidence showing any manipulation, fabrication or falsification of facts by the defendants.
Specifically, regarding posts on social media about the sequence of events or the death of a rideshare driver Affan Kurniawan.
The panel regarded those posts as a response of anger and humanitarian solidarity by human rights activists in relation to the incident affecting Affan Kurniawan, not as an invitation to riot.
‘The posts were symbolic expressions of freedom of expression and a response to the incident that affected Affan Kurniawan,’ the Chief Judge added.
Earlier, the four defendants faced two years in prison on the grounds that they allegedly committed the offence of participating in public crime by encouraging others to commit crime or to oppose authorities violently.
In the case, Delpedro and others were accused of uploading 80 collaborative posts that were inciting and intended to foster hatred toward the government from 24–29 August 2025.
It was stated that the defendants uploaded electronic information on social media managed by the four defendants, inviting students to participate in the unrest.
The social-media outreach allegedly ran from 24–29 August 2025, during which the narratives posted by the defendants induced and led students—mostly underage—to support anarchy in front of the DPR RI, the Metro Jaya Police HQ, and other locations.
One of the posts forming part of the indictment was a poster reading ‘Bantuan hukum pelajar yang turun ke jalan’ with the caption ‘Kalian pelajar yang ikut aksi? Jangan takut jika ada intimidasi atau kriminalisasi segara hubungi kami’.
The Metropolitan Police of Jakarta considered suspending the detention of the four activists who were suspects of incitement during the demonstrations from 25–31 August 2025.
A banner was displayed on one of the large billboards along Gejayan or Affandi Street, Sleman, Yogyakarta.
The acquittal they received is not only theirs or other political prisoners in Jakarta, but for all Indonesian political prisoners elsewhere.
Interview excerpt: Delpedro Marhaen dkk facing prosecution prior to verdict.