Five Judges' Considerations Behind the Acquittal Verdict for Delpedro and Colleagues

JAKARTA — The panel of judges of the Central Jakarta District Court has outlined several considerations underpinning the acquittal of Delpedro Marhaen Rismansyah and three of his colleagues in a case of alleged incitement connected to the August 2025 demonstrations. In the verdict announced in a hearing on Friday (6 March 2026), the judges said the public prosecutor (JPU) had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the criminal elements charged against the defendants. One of the main considerations was the absence of evidence showing that the defendants’ postings on social media contained manipulated facts or calls to riot. One post highlighted during the trial related to the death of Affan Kurniawan, an online motorcycle taxi rider. “Considering that the post on 28 August 2025, late in the evening, was a form of anger and humanitarian solidarity as human rights activists in response to the incident affecting Affan Kurniawan,” said the panel in the verdict at the Central Jakarta District Court, on Friday (6 March 2026). The judges regarded the posting as a symbolic expression connected to freedom of expression in response to the death of Affan Kurniawan. The second consideration: the panel stated that no witnesses convincingly testified that the crowd rioted as a direct result of the defendants’ posts on social media. The judges also found no evidence clearly showing calls for violence or destruction in the posts. In the proceedings, only one witness testified that they were moved to join the solidarity action after learning of Affan Kurniawan’s death. However, the witness emphasised they were not prompted to riot. The fourth consideration: the public prosecutor’s indictment concerning disseminating false information that caused the riots was not proven at trial. According to the judges, there were no official documents to cross-check against to determine that the information posted by the defendants was false. “There is no direct causation between the defendants’ posts and the riots. The riots occurred more closely connected to factual events on the ground in their own right,” the judges explained. Fifth: the panel also accepted a number of amicus curiae briefs from various segments of society and universities.