Four Years Since Kanjuruhan Tragedy: Calls for Justice for Victims Persist
During a commemoration of the four-year anniversary of the Kanjuruhan Tragedy, held by civil society and Aremania supporters in front of the Malang City Hall on Thursday (1/10), demonstrators reminded the public not to forget the search for justice.
The commemoration was also observed by supporters of the Indonesian national team, who held a moment of silence at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (SUGB) in Jakarta during the match between the Garuda Squad and Bangladesh last night.
In this case, one individual identified by the police as a suspect four years ago has yet to stand trial.
“The tragedy that is clearly before our eyes is not easy to forget. It is my hope that the government does not ignore this,” said supporter representative Ambon Fanda during the commemoration in Malang.
He explicitly highlighted the light sentences imposed on the defendants, arguing that the punishments were disproportionate to the loss of life.
“To say that a two-year sentence is fair for the families of the victims, considering 135 lives were lost, is utterly ridiculous in our view,” he stated.
As information, Hadian remains the only suspect in the Kanjuruhan Tragedy who was released by the police. He has been out of detention since December 2022 because the East Java Regional Police failed to complete the case files.
During the Kanjuruhan Tragedy trial, the Surabaya District Court judges assessed that Hadian, or PT LIB which he led at the time, had ignored the safety of those involved in the match held on 1 October 2022.
This was stated by the panel of judges when reading the mitigating considerations of the verdict for the Chairman of the Arema FC vs Persebaya Surabaya Match Committee, Abdul Haris, on Thursday (9/3/2023).
The panel of judges, consisting of Abu Achmad Sidqi Amsya, Mangapul, and I Ketut Kimiarsa, assessed that PT LIB, as the league operator, neglected the safety of players, supporters, and security.
“As a mitigating factor, the defendant had forwarded a request from witness Ferli Hidayat [the then Malang Police Chief] to PT LIB to move the football match schedule forward for security reasons, but that request was not met because it conflicted solely with business interests, as LIB was bound by a contract with Indosarm,” the judges stated during the verdict.
“It is very regrettable because LIB placed players, supporters, and security as mere objects and ignored their safety,” the judges continued.
Hadian Lukita himself previously admitted that the primary reason his party refused to change the match time for the Arema FC vs Persebaya Surabaya match on 1 October 2022 was due to commercial value.
This reason was revealed by Hadian when testifying as a witness in the trial of two defendants in the Kanjuruhan Tragedy case, namely the Chairman of the Arema FC Match Committee Abdul Haris and Security Officer Suko Sutrisno, on Tuesday, 24 January 2023.
He mentioned that the then Malang Police Chief, AKBP Ferli Hidayat, requested that the match time for Singo Edan against Bajol Ijo be moved forward from 20:00 WIB to 16:00 WIB. However, he could not accept this because it would clash with the live broadcast of another Liga 1 match.
“At that time, as the President Director, I thought that if the schedules clashed, the commercial value would decrease. [It clashed with] Madura United vs Borneo FC [at 16:00 WIB],” Hadian replied to the judges’ questions.
He noted that the commercial value could decrease because, at the same time, the broadcaster could not televise two matches simultaneously.
“The Police Chief requested that time [16:00 WIB] because there was a live broadcast on that channel. Yes, [the reason was commercial] because one channel cannot host two live broadcasts. If it shifted to 18:00 WIB, it might have been possible, but 16:00 WIB was not,” Hadian said.
According to Hadian, changing the match to another day was also not easy, as he claimed the match schedule had been determined since the start of the competition season.
“The series of matches is like a web of ropes. There are nine matches every week; if you shift them, it is not easy,” he said.
In addition to commercial reasons, Hadian continued, other clubs playing at 16:00 WIB were also unwilling to have their match times moved to 20:00 WIB.
“Usually, if Indosiar [the broadcaster] is okay, we try to coordinate. If the schedule clashes with others, the broadcaster requests to keep the schedule. We coordinated with the club playing at the same time at 16:00 WIB, and they refused to shift. Usually, coordination allows for shifts, but the other party did not want to move, so, that was it.”
On 22 December 2022, the National Police Headquarters stated that prosecutors declared the former President Director of PT LIB, Akhmad Hadian Lukita, could not be brought to prosecution in the Kanjuruhan Tragedy case.
“The Public Prosecutor (JPU) concluded that the Director of PT LIB cannot be brought forward in the prosecution process. Therefore, the investigators are following the instructions and research results from the JPU,” said the Head of Public Relations of the National Police, Inspector General Dedi Prasetyo, to journalists at Monas, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (22/12).
“Since there are instructions like that, the status is no longer that of a suspect. Therefore, he is no longer a suspect; he has been released from detention. As for the other suspects, they have been transferred to the JPU and the JPU has accepted them all. For the next step is the trial process,” he continued.
Dedi stated that investigators were following the instructions of the public prosecutor. He mentioned that based on the research conducted, the JPU decided Hadian Lukita could not be prosecuted.
“In terms of terminology, it is not an SP3 [termination of investigation], but after research with the JPU, the individual cannot be brought forward in the prosecution process. Therefore, the administrative process will be prepared by investigators, and the individual will be released from detention immediately,” he said.
However, Dedi clarified the statement on 26 December, asserting that Ahmad Hadian Lukita still holds the status of a suspect.
“It has already been conveyed by the East Java Regional Police investigators (that Ahmad Hadian Lukita is still a suspect),” Dedi said when confirmed on Monday (26/12).
Dedi noted that the investigators…