Delpedro Marhaen Responds to Cassation Request on Acquittal Verdict, Claims Prosecutors Have Their Own Interpretation
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Executive Director of the Lokataru Foundation, Delpedro Marhaen Rismansyah, has responded to the cassation petition filed by the Attorney General’s Office (Kejagung) against the acquittal verdict for himself and three colleagues.
According to Delpedro, the public prosecutors’ (JPU) move constitutes a lack of respect for the court’s decision and a defiance of the law.
“The prosecutors seem to have their own interpretation regarding the permissibility of filing a cassation against an acquittal verdict,” Delpedro stated when contacted by Kompas.com on Tuesday (7/4/2026).
Delpedro also alluded to the statement by the Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Services, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who had previously warned against filing a cassation in that case.
He assessed that the prosecutors did not consider the view of a minister who is also an expert in constitutional law.
“If the DPR does not summon those prosecutors, this kind of trend will continue and create legal uncertainty,” he emphasised.
Delpedro opined that Article 361 letter c of the new KUHAP has provided sufficiently clear direction. Meanwhile, the old KUHAP only applies temporarily until cases under examination are decided at the first instance.
“After that, the criminal procedure system must switch to the new regime,” he said.
Previously reported, Kejagung filed a cassation against the acquittal of Delpedro Marhaen Rismansyah along with three other defendants in the alleged incitement of demonstrations case in August 2025.
The legal effort was filed because the prosecutors deemed the case could still be cassated based on the criminal procedure provisions in effect when the case was handed over to the court.
Based on the Case Tracking Information System (SIPP) of the Central Jakarta District Court, the cassation petition was filed on 16 March 2026.
“The petitioner (public prosecutor) cassation Tri Yanti Merlyn Christin Pardede,” reads the notice in the SIPP of the Central Jakarta District Court, accessed on Tuesday (7/4/2026).