IDAI Files Amicus Curiae in Dr Ratna Case, Demands End to Criminalisation of Doctors

The Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI) has officially submitted a Friend of the Court opinion, or Amicus Curiae, in criminal case number 295/Pid.Sus/2025/PN Pgp on behalf of defendant Dr Ratna Setia Asih, Sp.A, at the Pangkalpinang District Court. This step was taken as a form of moral, scientific, and legal concern to ensure that medical cases are not decided based on assumptions or oversimplification of complex clinical problems. IDAI considers that this case has broad implications for the future of legal protection for medical personnel in Indonesia. If adverse medical events are immediately criminalised without strong scientific evidence, it is feared that medical practice will be under the shadow of criminalisation, damaging the national healthcare service climate. In the Amicus Curiae signed by 4,061 friends of the court, IDAI outlined a number of fundamental facts. Firstly, the patient’s condition was a complex clinical case with severe comorbidities in the form of Total AV Block, the highest degree of cardiac electrical conduction disorder that triggers sudden cardiac arrest. Secondly, the patient’s treatment was carried out by a multidisciplinary team involving a paediatrician and a cardiologist. Therefore, placing the entire consequence of death on a single doctor is considered a medical and legal logical error. IDAI Central Board Chairman Piprim Basarah Yanuarso stated that a doctor must not be punished for a poor medical outcome if there is no scientific evidence confirming a causal link between the doctor’s actions and the patient’s death. He stressed that criminal law must not stand on mere assumptions. Piprim also highlighted the absence of an autopsy in this case. Without a post-mortem examination, the cause of death cannot be scientifically determined objectively. Punishing a doctor without autopsy evidence is considered to nullify the element of causality, which is an absolute element in a negligence charge. IDAI General Secretary Hikari Ambara Sjakti added the importance of applying the In Dubio Pro Reo principle. Given that the trial has not been able to prove the defendant’s negligence as the direct cause of death, the Panel of Judges is obliged to decide in the most favourable manner for the defendant. Furthermore, this Amicus Curiae refers to the new paradigm in the National Criminal Code and Law Number 20 of 2025, which provides firm legal protection for medical personnel acting in good faith. Doctors cannot be criminalised for medical outcomes from a patient’s underlying disease if the actions were in accordance with professional standards. The Head of IDAI’s Member Development and Defence Agency, Aryono Hendarto, stated that this support involves 4,061 friends of the court from 34 IDAI branches across Indonesia, from Aceh to Papua. The composition includes professors and consultant subspecialists in cardiology and neonatology. Aryono said this case will become an important precedent, questioning whether doctors will work with professional courage or with fear because every medical risk could turn into a criminal case. Through this document, IDAI requests the Panel of Judges to declare the charges against Dr Ratna Setia Asih not legally proven and to deliver a full acquittal. IDAI believes that justice for patients must not be achieved by sacrificing doctors through weak and unscientific evidence.