Detector Bracelets Fitted to Ankles of Delpedro and Co-defendants During City Detention

Three defendants in a case of alleged incitement related to last August’s demonstrations — Lokataru Foundation Director Delpedro Marhaen, Lokataru Foundation staff member Muzaffar Salim, and @gejayanmemanggil administrator Syahdan Husein — are being monitored by detector bracelets during their period of city detention.

The detector bracelets, fitted to the defendants’ ankles, track their movements.

“We are required to report to the Prosecutor’s Office every Wednesday and to wear the detector bracelets until 8 March. As my domicile is in North Jakarta, my movements are now restricted to that area only,” said Delpedro after attending a hearing with expert witness examination at the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday (18 February).

“I am only permitted to travel to Central Jakarta for the purposes of attending court hearings and making mandatory reports to the Prosecutor’s Office,” he added.

Delpedro said he was not troubled by the device, choosing to see the positive side of his city detention status.

“Regarding the use of the detector bracelet itself, so far the device has not disrupted daily activities as it is waterproof, making it safe to use while bathing or swimming. The Prosecutor’s Office has facilitated the use of this device very well as an alternative to physical detention,” he stated.

At today’s hearing, the public prosecutors at the Central Jakarta District Prosecutor’s Office presented two expert witnesses. The trial will continue on Thursday morning (19 February) with examination of defendants and exculpatory witnesses (à décharge).

On Friday (13 February), the panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court converted the detention of Delpedro, Muzaffar and Syahdan to city detention.

The judges required the defendants to continue making mandatory reports and to attend morning court hearings.

“Despite the territorial restrictions, my colleagues and I greatly appreciate the decision of the panel of judges, as detention is fundamentally not an absolute obligation in the legal process,” said Delpedro.

Delpedro, Muzaffar, Syahdan, and University of Riau student and Aliansi Mahasiswa Menggugat (Student Alliance for Accountability) administrator Khariq Anhar were charged with alleged incitement surrounding the August demonstrations that culminated in rioting.

However, the charges relating to ethnic, religious, racial and inter-group (SARA) criminal offences during the August events were dropped as they failed to meet the formal and substantive requirements of the indictment.