Delpedro's Plea Hearing: Two-Year Prison Sentence Falls Short of the Mark

Delpedro Marhaen, Director of Lokataru Foundation, contends that the two-year prison sentence demanded by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) does not fully reflect the facts presented during the trial.

This statement was made during the plea hearing for the alleged incitement case related to the August 25-30 demonstrations at Jakarta Central District Court on Monday, 2 March. Delpedro also characterised the PPO’s demand as falling short of the mark.

“However, with all due respect, I believe that the sentence pronounced by the Public Prosecutor’s Office falls short of the mark. The sentence does not reflect the complete facts of the trial,” said Delpedro.

According to him, the prosecution ignored witness testimony, dismissed expert opinions, and omitted important context from the August facts presented clearly during the proceedings.

Delpedro referenced several witness statements at trial. He noted that there was a cluster of witnesses who claimed to have seen Lokataru posts and various other content from different accounts in August of last year.

However, none of the witnesses stated that the posts were the factor that motivated them to take to the streets to protest.

“Their motives for protesting were solidarity, moral concern, and personal conviction. Some witness statements explained that the actions which subsequently resulted in criminal convictions were taken in the context of self-defence against repressive actions by law enforcement. Thus, where is the element of incitement if the witnesses themselves did not feel incited?” said Delpedro.

There was also a cluster of child witnesses who claimed to have seen content posted by Lokataru Foundation but were not moved by it. Some even stated that the content was not interesting to them.

“Rather, they were moved by a sense of solidarity and provoked by posts from police officers with provocative undertones. Regarding the allegation of carrying sharp weapons, they have explained that the objects were not used for violence,” he said.

There was also a cluster of witnesses who received legal assistance from Lokataru. These witnesses explained that the assistance provided was not limited to August, but also extended to various previous cases.

“This means that such advocacy was not a hidden action, not a conspiracy, not a clandestine movement. It is open, transparent, and constitutional advocacy work,” he said.

In his plea, as Executive Director of Lokataru, Delpedro acknowledged responsibility for products, statements, research, or advocacy carried out by Lokataru.

“Our institutional structure is clear. Every press release, post, research report, or public statement bearing the Lokataru name never stands as a mere individual action. It is an institutional product that goes through internal processes, preparation, discussion, curation, and approval, and at the final point of approval, responsibility rests with me as Executive Director,” he said.

Because of this, he requested that the judges’ bench acquit the other defendant, a Lokataru Foundation staff member and manager of the Instagram account Blok Politik Pelajar (Student Political Bloc), Muzaffar Salim.

Delpedro also requested that any potential further legal proceedings against Lokataru Foundation staff members be terminated.

“I ask the judges’ bench and the Public Prosecutor’s Office not to pursue this matter further. Let me bear responsibility for all products that they work on in their capacity as my staff at Lokataru,” he said.

Previously, the prosecutor demanded that the Central Jakarta District Court judges’ bench sentence Delpedro Marhaen to two years imprisonment.

Similar charges were filed against three other defendants: Lokataru Foundation staff member and manager of the Instagram account Blok Politik Pelajar Muzaffar Salim, @gejayanmemanggil administrator Syahdan Husein, and Riau University student and administrator of the Aliansi Mahasiswa Menggugat (Alliance of Student Prosecutors) Khariq Anhar.

According to prosecutors, the defendants have been proven to have committed electronic incitement related to the August 25-30 demonstrations which resulted in disorder, causing damage to public facilities and injuries to law enforcement officers, as charged under Article 246 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of the KUHP.

“(Requesting the judges’ bench) impose a sentence on Defendant I Delpedro Marhaen, Defendant II Muzaffar Salim, Defendant III Syahdan Husein, and Defendant IV Khariq Anhar with imprisonment for 2 years deducted by the time the defendants spent in detention,” said prosecutors when reading the sentencing demand at Jakarta Central District Court, Jakarta, on Friday, 27 February.